2008 Woodie Awards
Hats for bats
"I hate gay people"
Steve Sandak
Issue date: 2/23/07 Section: Sports
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I assure you that these are not my words, and definitely not my opinion. However, these are the words that former NBA star Tim Hardaway uttered last week when he was asked about how he felt about another former NBA player John Amaechi's new book in which he discloses that he is gay.
Other highlights from Hardaway's interview include, "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." I do not wish to address the homophobic mentalities which exist in America and professional sports. All I wish to say is that Hardaway is an idiot, and I am not surprised by what he said.
Why should anyone be that surprised by what he said? Most sports stars are not role models. They have given us no reason to believe in their moral fiber, rather they give us statistics to predict how likely it is that they will get a hit with runners in scoring position. While one would like to think that an adult in our society would not hold these types of opinions, Hardaway does. Other than our idealistic aspirations for how we would like our society to act and think, there is no reason for us to believe that he would be a forward thinking accepting citizen. I watched him hit a whole bunch of threes in the late 90's for the Miami Heat. That is all I expect out of him. All I expect out of Albert Pujols (pronounced poo-holes) is that he jacks balls into the upper deck one out of every fifteen at bats. I am not looking to Sidney Crosby to be some sort of incredible role model for me or anyone else. I want him to score some great goals and get America excited about hockey again. I am objectifying these people. But why shouldn't I?
Athletes are generally dirtbags. Kobe Bryant cheated on his wife, Mickey Mantle was a boozebag, Pete Rose couldn't stop gambling, Joe Namath tried to creep on a sideline reporter live on National TV as he slurred the words, "I jussst wannna kisss you". Nice one Joe.
Other highlights from Hardaway's interview include, "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." I do not wish to address the homophobic mentalities which exist in America and professional sports. All I wish to say is that Hardaway is an idiot, and I am not surprised by what he said.
Why should anyone be that surprised by what he said? Most sports stars are not role models. They have given us no reason to believe in their moral fiber, rather they give us statistics to predict how likely it is that they will get a hit with runners in scoring position. While one would like to think that an adult in our society would not hold these types of opinions, Hardaway does. Other than our idealistic aspirations for how we would like our society to act and think, there is no reason for us to believe that he would be a forward thinking accepting citizen. I watched him hit a whole bunch of threes in the late 90's for the Miami Heat. That is all I expect out of him. All I expect out of Albert Pujols (pronounced poo-holes) is that he jacks balls into the upper deck one out of every fifteen at bats. I am not looking to Sidney Crosby to be some sort of incredible role model for me or anyone else. I want him to score some great goals and get America excited about hockey again. I am objectifying these people. But why shouldn't I?
Athletes are generally dirtbags. Kobe Bryant cheated on his wife, Mickey Mantle was a boozebag, Pete Rose couldn't stop gambling, Joe Namath tried to creep on a sideline reporter live on National TV as he slurred the words, "I jussst wannna kisss you". Nice one Joe.
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