Fruit Hoops
So first, I'm going to apologize for the title, that's just wrong. I could fall back on the argument that since I used to work in gay bars I'm allowed to poke fun, but I'm sure a lot of gay and lesbian people would disagree, and rightly so. The fact of the matter is, that's the cleverest thing I've thought of in a long time, and, I know, it ain't sayin' much. When I found this story and decided to blog on it, it's also the first title that came to me, and that's saying a whole lot, but we'll get to that later.
So, here's the story thus far:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/02/15/bc.bkn.hardawayremarks.ap/index.html?cnn=yes
To summarize, former NBA player, John Amaechi, released a memoir, titled "Man in the Middle" in which he states he is a homosexual. In an interview, the subject of homosexuals in the NBA was brought up to retired NBA star, Tim Hardaway (for those of you who, like me, don't really follow basketball, this is not the same Hardaway who used to do commercials with that little puppet guy, though I'm sure there's a "What's the difference" joke in there, somewhere) who stated that he didn't like homosexuals, thought it would be a problem playing with one and would go to great lengths to have one removed from any team he was playing on. This caused problems.
Firstly, the host of the radio show during which Hardaway made his blatantly homophobic comments, Dan Le Batard, apparently called him out on it, telling him he was a homophobe and a bigot. Bravo to you, sir. It would have been too easy for someone to just be all "Larry King" about it and hang back while the incendiary comments boosted their visibility on a national stage. Next, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (jeez, doesn't anyone name their organization without having an acronym in mind anymore?) got involved, referring to Hardaway's remarks as "vile, repulsive, and indicative of the climate of ignorance, hostility and prejudice that continues to pervade sports culture". In their statement, they could have just said "general society" but hey, they're being specific. GLAAD went on to say, "...and by apologizing not for his bigotry (Hardaway, in a subsequent interview, apologized for saying these things), but rather for giving voice to it, he's reminding us that this ugly display is only the tip of a very large iceberg". The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (jeez, doesn't anyone name their organization without first having an acronym in mind anymore?) threw in, stating "Hardaway is a hero to thousands of young people. And that's what makes his comments so troubling. Sadly, his words simply put the pervasive homophobia in the NBA on the table." Bold words, to be sure. But I have to wonder, shouldn't we be thanking Mr. Hardaway for his moronic statements? After all, it isn't as if homophobia in the NBA, or to be fair, any organized sport would have been brought to the forefront of national attention if Mr. Hardaway had kept his mouth shut. Tim Hardaway making such outlandish comments is really the best case scenario, isn't it? I mean, had John Amaechia simply released his book detailing the hardships he'd gone through as a gay man in the NBA, he would have been shoved off as a social pariah and that would've been the end of it. But, having something tangible to fight makes everyone stand up and take notice. Feelings are difficult to fight. Face it, we're all prejudiced. We're all racist, homophobic, sexist, or ageist to some degree. I know I am. Look at the title for my blog. I have good friends that are gay, but that doesn't stop me from making fun of them. Tim Hardaway isn't the person we should all be worrying about. It's the people who feel this way but don't realize it that we need to be concerned with. In other words, "I've seen the enemy, and they is us" I think we all need a little Tim Hardaway in our lives to help us temper how we feel against what we know is right. So I say thank you, Tim Hardaway, thank you for being the posterboy of social retardation the rest of us hide in the basement of our subconscious. Also, how happy would Ted Haggard be to find out that, if he could only improve his skills in the paint, the NBA would accept him, either way.
So, here's the story thus far:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/02/15/bc.bkn.hardawayremarks.ap/index.html?cnn=yes
To summarize, former NBA player, John Amaechi, released a memoir, titled "Man in the Middle" in which he states he is a homosexual. In an interview, the subject of homosexuals in the NBA was brought up to retired NBA star, Tim Hardaway (for those of you who, like me, don't really follow basketball, this is not the same Hardaway who used to do commercials with that little puppet guy, though I'm sure there's a "What's the difference" joke in there, somewhere) who stated that he didn't like homosexuals, thought it would be a problem playing with one and would go to great lengths to have one removed from any team he was playing on. This caused problems.
Firstly, the host of the radio show during which Hardaway made his blatantly homophobic comments, Dan Le Batard, apparently called him out on it, telling him he was a homophobe and a bigot. Bravo to you, sir. It would have been too easy for someone to just be all "Larry King" about it and hang back while the incendiary comments boosted their visibility on a national stage. Next, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (jeez, doesn't anyone name their organization without having an acronym in mind anymore?) got involved, referring to Hardaway's remarks as "vile, repulsive, and indicative of the climate of ignorance, hostility and prejudice that continues to pervade sports culture". In their statement, they could have just said "general society" but hey, they're being specific. GLAAD went on to say, "...and by apologizing not for his bigotry (Hardaway, in a subsequent interview, apologized for saying these things), but rather for giving voice to it, he's reminding us that this ugly display is only the tip of a very large iceberg". The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (jeez, doesn't anyone name their organization without first having an acronym in mind anymore?) threw in, stating "Hardaway is a hero to thousands of young people. And that's what makes his comments so troubling. Sadly, his words simply put the pervasive homophobia in the NBA on the table." Bold words, to be sure. But I have to wonder, shouldn't we be thanking Mr. Hardaway for his moronic statements? After all, it isn't as if homophobia in the NBA, or to be fair, any organized sport would have been brought to the forefront of national attention if Mr. Hardaway had kept his mouth shut. Tim Hardaway making such outlandish comments is really the best case scenario, isn't it? I mean, had John Amaechia simply released his book detailing the hardships he'd gone through as a gay man in the NBA, he would have been shoved off as a social pariah and that would've been the end of it. But, having something tangible to fight makes everyone stand up and take notice. Feelings are difficult to fight. Face it, we're all prejudiced. We're all racist, homophobic, sexist, or ageist to some degree. I know I am. Look at the title for my blog. I have good friends that are gay, but that doesn't stop me from making fun of them. Tim Hardaway isn't the person we should all be worrying about. It's the people who feel this way but don't realize it that we need to be concerned with. In other words, "I've seen the enemy, and they is us" I think we all need a little Tim Hardaway in our lives to help us temper how we feel against what we know is right. So I say thank you, Tim Hardaway, thank you for being the posterboy of social retardation the rest of us hide in the basement of our subconscious. Also, how happy would Ted Haggard be to find out that, if he could only improve his skills in the paint, the NBA would accept him, either way.
posted by Ryan | 10:43 PM
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