Feb. 15 1:45a.m. ET
Tim Hardaway said he’s sorry that he said he hates gay people and that it was wrong to say that. But as apologies go, it was pathetically weak.
“Yes, I regret it. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said I hate gay people or anything like that,” the former NBA star told a Miami television station. “That was my mistake.”
He offered that tepid apology late Wednesday. Earlier in the day, in response to a question about former NBA center John Amaechi, who came out of the closet last week, he had told another media outlet:
“You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I’m homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.”
The apology said he was wrong to say that. It didn’t say he’s wrong to believe it.
And that’s the problem. The sin in this country isn’t so much being a bigot as in saying as much in public. Saying it will get you fired from a lot of jobs. Believing it won’t get you into any trouble at all — as long as you keep it to yourself and your like-minded friends.
So it’s good when retired ballplayers who don’t have a job to lose say what they’re really thinking. Hardaway’s little confession goes a long way toward explaining why no active player in any sport has admitted to being gay, even though the statistics tell us that there are two homosexuals for every three NBA teams. They’re out there; they’re not just going to tell us who they are because of people like Hardaway.
I’ve got a suggestion for how he can do that: he can start by substituting the word “black” for “gay” and repeat what he said. Then he should try it using the words “women,” “Native Americans,” “Moslems” and “Jews.” He should record it all, then play the tape back and think about it.
Hardaway ought to know something about bigotry. As an African-American who grew up in Chicago, he’s probably heard about how it has affected his people. It’s one of life’s ironies that people who belong to minorities that are discriminated against so frequently exhibit the same sort of bigotry they decry in others. You’d think that if you have to put up with that garbage, you would be less likely to engage in the same behavior yourself. But it doesn’t work that way because bigotry is a learned belief system. You believe what you’re taught to believe, and to stop being a bigot, you have to unlearn what you were taught when you were so young you weren’t yet aware you were learning anything.
Hardaway said homosexuality is wrong and has no place in America. He didn’t come up with that on his own. Someone taught him that. He probably also believes homosexuality is a choice, which is so ignorant it’s hard to commenting on.
To believe it’s a choice is to believe that six percent of the population chooses to risk ridicule, abuse, and discrimination, to live in constant fear of being outed and attacked, and to forego sex with the opposite gender in favor of same-gender relationships.
Think about it. It’s not a choice. Most homosexual men can no more imagine having sex with Scarlett Johansson than heterosexual men can imagine having it with Michael Jackson. It’s the way people are wired, and there’s nothing wrong with it. You can make it a moral issue if you want, but that won’t change what genetics dictates, so reserve your moral judgments for your own life and let others worry about their lives.
© 2007 MSNBC.com
Of course, I did email the blogger regarding his comparison:
Michael Jackson?!?! How did you go from Scarlett Johansson to Michael Jackson? Dude, as a gay man, I know of no other gay men who even remotely find Michael Jackson sexually attractive. I've yet to hear one of us say, "Damn, that Michael Jackson is HOT! I'd like to play on his Neverland!" Dear gawd, I believe that I just vomited into my own mouth. So, next time you do a similar comparison, choose a Brad Pitt or an Adam Rodriguez (CSI: Miami) or a Shemar Moore. Hell, I'd have sex with Scarlett Johansson over Michael! Michael Jackson?!?!
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