Feb 15, 2007 11:55 pm US/Central
NBA Star Tries To Control Damage Of Anti-Gay Rant
Gay NBA Player Says He Has Been Subject To Hatred Since Hardaway's Comments
WFOR-TV/WBFS-TV, Miami contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Former NBA star Tim Hardaway is trying to do damage control after he made a number of anti-gay remarks on a Miami radio show.
CBS
NBA star Tim Hardaway, a Chicago native, is apologizing for hateful remarks he made against gays.
As CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports, Hardaway is attempting to control the damage of his words.
As a 14-year NBA veteran, Hardway was known for his attacking offensive style. But Thursday, he was strictly playing defense.
"I regret it. I'm sorry," Hardaway said. "I shouldn't have said I hate gay people."
Hardaway on Wednesday said, among other things, that he hates gay people when asked for his reaction to revelations by former NBA journeyman John Amaechi that Amaechi is gay.
"I hate gay people. I let it be known. I don't like gay people; I don't like to be around gay people. I'm homophobic," Hardaway said in a radio interview.
Those comments came as no surprise to gay rights activist Rick Garcia of Equality Illinois.
"It seems that professional sports in America has to be one of the most anti-gay and homophobic institutions we have," Garcia said.
Amaechi played five unremarkable seasons in the NBA before his 2004 retirement. But Garcia says the uber-macho atmosphere in sports makes it remarkable that he came out at all.
"The general managers and owners of these teams have to do what general managers and owners of major businesses have done in this country and say, racist, sexist and anti-gay slurs are not going to be involved in the workplace. You can't do that and we won't accept it," Garcia said.
Now Hardaway, who starred on Carver High's basketball team, has been removed from league-related appearances, and has been all but disinvited from NBA All Star Game festivities this weekend in Las Vegas.
In a statement, NBA Commissioner David Stern said, "It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours."
But even while apologizing, Hardaway said of homosexuals, "I don't condone it being in the locker room."
Until his statements, Hardaway had been making community appearances in Nevada on behalf of the NBA, prior to Sunday's All Star game.
A spokesman for Gay Games Chicago says, "Amaechi's courage stands in stark contrast with Hardaway's hatred. And both should be used to teach tolerance."
Chicago Gay Games organizer Kevin Boyer told CBS 2 Thursday night that he hopes Hardaway is knocked off his soapbox.
"We give them a voice not necessarily because they are the most intelligent people, though many of them are, but we give them a voice because of their athletic ability," Boyer said. "And for them to use that in a way that damages society... people like Tim Hardaway need to be held accountable."
Amaechi said Thursday that Hardaway has been a lightning rod, subjecting him to even more hatred.
"Since his words, the precentage of e-mails that I've received just overnight, that are going to have to go in a box somewhere just in case I end up dead one day, are unbelieveable.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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