Retired Miami
Heat guard Tim Hardaway said Wednesday that he hates gay
people, though he later said he regretted the remarks.
''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,'' he said while a guest on Sports Talk 790
the Ticket. ''I'm homophobic. I don't like it.
It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.''
The discussion was sparked by last week's
announcement that retired NBA center John Amaechi is
gay. The host asked Hardaway how he would interact
with a gay teammate.
''First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team.
And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you
know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I
don't think that is right. I don't think he should be in
the locker room while we are in the locker room.''
If he did find out that a teammate was gay,
Hardaway said, he would ask for the player to be
removed from the team. ''Something has to give,''
Hardaway said. ''If you have 12 other ballplayers in your
locker room that's upset and can't concentrate and
always worried about him in the locker room or on the
court or whatever, it's going to be hard for your
teammates to win and accept him as a teammate.''
Amaechi detailed his life in his autobiography
Man in the Middle, which was released
Wednesday. He hoped his coming out would be a catalyst
for intelligent discourse.
''I'm actually tempted to laugh,'' Amaechi told
The Miami Herald. ''Finally, someone who is
honest. It is ridiculous, absurd, petty, bigoted, and shows
a lack of empathy that is gargantuan and unfathomable.
But it is honest. And it illustrates the problem
better than any of the fuzzy language other people
have used so far.''
Hardaway later apologized for the remarks during
a telephone interview with Fox affiliate WSVN in
Miami. ''Yes, I regret it. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have
said I hate gay people or anything like that,'' he said.
''That was my mistake.''
Hardaway has reportedly been removed from
further league-related appearances. ''It is
inappropriate for him to be representing us given the
disparity between his views and ours,'' NBA commissioner
David Stern said in a statement to the Fort Lauderdale
Sun-Sentinel. (AP)