Tim Hardaway?

Question

I'm a little bothered about this villainization of Tim Hardaway after his comments regarding Gay players in the NBA. Let me say first that I don't have a problem with his opinions as they are just that......opinions. But why is he all of a sudden a bad guy? Maybe its just me, but what it boils down to is that this guy is being criticized for answering a question honestly. Nevermind his ideas not being popular or politically incorrect, but he was asked a question and he answered it. He made a statement that he regarded as being on a moral ground (I think). How is that different from the morality-based judgement and legislation of Republicans? I don't necessarily agree with his attitude but, hey he was asked what he thought and he answered it. What's the problem?

In addition to all of that, think about how scandalous the media is: How long would it take for the player who comes out of the closet's "gayness" to become a big distraction for the team? How long would it take for some idiotic tabloid writer to fabricate a relationship with one of the other players? At this point, don't you have a chemistry problem? I am not convinced that this country is ready to deal with an active professional gay athlete. There would be a media circus about everything other than the teams performance. The taunts from the crowds (visting and your own) and other players. Remember what happened when Raphael Palmiero endorsed Viagra. There were graphics on the depicting water spouts and the like for weeks!!! Keep it to yourself if your gay for the sake of team chemistry. I personally would not care, but it is an issue that a lot of people are not willing to deal with in a mature manner. But that's just my take.

Hey guys, I really appreciate your comments and they are very helpful......some of you did not hear what he said. I heard it out of his mouth and he did not say the word "hate" when I heard him. He said I don't like being around gay people and he admitted to being a homophobe. But some of you guys are putting words in his mouth.

Okay, I just double checked on wickipedia, he did use the word hate.

Bwade326.........you losing friends over it is not cool. That is some BS!!! If he abandoned you for that, he wasnt a sincere freind to begin with. I hate that happened to you.

And I do agree that his apology was halfbaked. He apoligized for saying what he said but seemingly not to imply that he beleived there was anything wrong with his thinking.

Interesting!!! But it seems like Republicans making a legislative stance against it is much more detrimental than the social consequences of what Tim Hardaway said. Doesn't one action speak way louder than the other? Is it a matter of who can can say it? The governement implicitly made the same statement didn't they?

People!!! Stop equating being gay with being black...........being black is usually not something you can hide.

Evan!!! My man. You make excellent points and have a very well articulated argument. However, I have examined this nature vs nurture argument about homosexuality in my classes. Truth is, there have been some correllation between gay men having wider hips than most men and the possibility of the unrine of a gay man having menstrual blood. However, that correlation was present, but it was pretty weak statistically and a correllation does not not connote causation under any circumstance. Especially in a case that is statistically this weak. Sceince as far as I have read has not come up with significant CONCLUSIVE evidence that homosexuality is a result of biological factors.

Answer 1

We should all apploud Tim Hardway for being honest about how he feels I,m going to take this a couple steps further Tim Hardaway is no longer in the NBA so what he says now does not matter now if Labron James said something like that at the top of his game then we would be getting some where. It,s funny to me that we don,t have real men in America any more like Jim Brown or Kariem Abdol Jabar or Bill Russell these brothers stood up and said what was on there minds and guess what they are still around today and very successful I think that there are a lot of problems in sports that the black athilet do not like but because of the back lash that would come with it are afraid to open there mouth and I under stand that we are talking about a lot of money for some of these men but money not everything what ever happen to being a man as a man I would not want to walk around naked in front of a gay guy and I would not want to hang out with one eather it goes against my belife and it goes against being a man nature if you will I believe it,s just wrong let me ask you a question if you knew I was a rapest would you leave me a lone with your daughter then why would you leave a homosexual alone with your son they have already showen you that there is something wrong with them and there is but your going to say there just people I think a lot of men are listening to there wives and girl friends to much and a lot of people have homosexual kids so these parents are trying to protect there kids so they say it,s alright to be a homosexual when they know in there heart if they had a choice they would not wont to have a homosexual child one more thing why is it that every time people start talking about homosexuals they have to bring up black people what does being a black person have to do with being a homosexual not one thing you can,t look at a person and tell that they are a homosexual so they can hide you can,t hide being black one more thing if I knew that there were homosexuals men playing basketball , football ,track and field boxing I would not watch sports anymore and there are a lot of people just like me that is why I don,t watch womens basketball to many homosexuals

Answer 2

You know that saying that goes like " truth hurts"? Well in this very very politically-correct society, where the slightest honest opinion or point of view is weight, scrutinized, judged, refuted, and what-have-you, Hardaway was a loser even before he answered the question.
Sometimes a "no Comments thank you" is worth its weigh in gold and is right to the point, meaning everything the person were to say if he were to say so.
Unfortunately, here when you rub against the grain and comment with your honest opinion, regardless of how just or right or fair it is, you will be judged on it based on the society's standards.
You will either turn out to be a hero or a villain, it all depends on what society has come to embrace and accept.

Answer 3

Well as long as we're welcoming honest opinions here, I think black people are generally more stupid than white people. They're better athletes, but they're less intelligent. I don't hate them or feel uncomfortable around them and I would never advocate treating them unfairly, but that's just what I think. And I guarantee you it's the opinion of many white people, if they were honest.

Whew, I feel better. I just gave an honest opinion, everyone should be okay with that and not give me any flak, right?

Free speech is never entirely free, no matter what anybody says. Sure, you can say whatever you like, but you have to be willing to accept the consequences because there usually are some.

And the consequences for Hardaway are that he loses his NBA employee position. Tough luck, the NBA is an image-conscious business. The thing is, Hardaway's opinion on the subject is completely irrelevant. He's no longer a player and he's not paid to be the NBA's "community values" spokesman, so he should have realized that making an inflammatory statement like that would come with a price.

Quite frankly, for anyone to profess that they HATE an entire group of people for no other reason than they're uncomfortable around them is not something to be lauded. In fact, the person making a mean-spirited comment like that SHOULD be subjected to unflattering criticism.

Nothing's ever free in life. You wanna play the game, you gotta pay the price of admission. And the price of admission in an image-conscious business is keeping your irrelevant, inflammatory opinions to yourself. That's just the way it is.

Answer 4

The problem is that Hardaway said that he was homophobic and said that he would ask for the player to be cut from the team or he to be traded if he found out there was a gay player on his team. How is his reaction any different then the reactions of some of the members of the Brooklyn Dodgers when Jackie Robinson joined the team. We now look down at the players who wanted to be traded as racists and bad people, so personally I think homophobics are just as bad as racists. He is different than the Republicans who are against gay marriage, because they dont go out and say that they hate gays, like he did.

Answer 5

Hellafunguy said it all. I hope people pay attention to him.

I would add only this: Yes, Hardaway is free to spew hate if that is what he feels, and I am free to hold him responsible for it. No, I'm not gay.

Racism still exists, but people understand it is destructive to act on it or to speak in favor of it. Truth is, the previous generation of bigots had to die out for their ugly voices to be deleted from the equation. Imagine if those voices were still here in the same numbers!

And here it is again. People and their moronic hatred, actually applauding each other for hating. This time it's homophobia. Once again, we will have to wait a generation for the ugly voices to die out.

I think that's sad.

Answer 6

A lot of people are saying "He's just being honest". And that's sad. If Tim Hardaway had said he disagrees with a gay person's lifestyle or something to that effect, then I would be okay with that, it's a free country, even though I don't agree with that view about gay people. But he said he "hates gays". Hate is a very strong word. What he said is just plain hurtful and ignorant. This isn't about being PC or censoring, this is about intolerance, bigotry, and downright ignorance. It's okay for him to voice his opinion, but he should choose his words a lot more carefully. He called himself a homophobe and was completely disrepectful. I lost a lot of respect for him when I heard that interview. To me, a real man is accepting and tolerant of everyone, especially gays. Tim Hardaway is not a real man, which he so clearly is trying to prove by saying he hates gays. Get over yourself Tim.

Answer 7

We all have a right to express our opinions. Though it is a good idea to know how to express them. I have always been a Tim Hardaway fan. He always had that tendency to be a out spoken hardass... that may be one of the reasons why i been a fan of his.
We live in a society that expects honesty and truth. But when we dont like someone's truth, we complain.

A person has the right to choose what orientation he/she wants..
but also .. a person has the right to feel comfortable. If he doesnt feel comfortable around gay men, hey that is his bussiness.

Answer 8

I have been hearing about this all over the radio and it is driving me insane but I guess I still listen to it because it kind of sparks something in you to hear that someone stated such inflammatory remarks on national air. But I don't think he was wrong. THat is his opinion and I personally get fed up with gay people coming out and all the attention that they think that should get them...If being gay is no big deal...then why do the people who are gay make such a fuss about it when they coming out??? I am sick of all the tolerance that we should all have. Who says I have to be tolerant??? Why? I don't tolerate homosexuality because it is just wrong. So if I wanted to say that I don't agree with it ..that is ok..but to make such a broad general hate statement with no social purpose other than to hate is what I have a problem with. If you hate something keep that to yoself. You know? Cuz now this homosexual mess is gettin way mo attention than it should be!

Answer 9

The problem lies with him being a public figure that people looked up too and to come out his mouth in such a way is unforgivable. He never mentioned the bible as to the basis of his hatred he just hates gays, so what right. Well being gay myself I can tell you that we grow up hearing that I have lost friends because of it. I played high school ball and was out of the closet non of the other woman had a problem with me why because we're teamates not potential sexual partners, gay doesnt mean sex on the brain and it doesn't mean that every person of the same sex Im around I want to sleep with, I mean isn't it in sports where men pat each other on the butt? And to the person who said he didnt say he hated gay people trust me he said HATE I live in Miami and the whole story unfolded before my very ears, he said HATE and he said it more that once he also said he would disown his own a family member if they came out as gay, sad sad day for gay basketball fans everywhere.

Answer 10

I don't think Tim Hardaway is a bad guy and he does have every right to express his opinion. However I think hating anyone based on sexual preference is just wrong. No one has any right to hate anyone no matter what the circumstance. And for everyone who wants to bring religion into this discussion remember we were all born in a time of sin because of Adam and Eve. So none of us are innocent or without sin.