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Tim Hardaway Helping LGBT Youth, Still Won't Shower with Gays

Former Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway, who destroyed his post-NBA career by proudly declaring on radio "I hate gay people" when former pro-basketball player John Amaechi came out, has been working with LGBT youth and will co-sponsor a Miami Beach fundraiser for The Trevor Project, reports the Miami Herald's Steve Rothaus. Hardaway still is obsessed with the prospect of gay players in the showers. 

"Gays and lesbians, we don't have to accept the act, but we have to accept them as people. Especially children, we don't want them to kill themselves. We want them to live their lives as they want to," said Hardaway, who took several training sessions at YES Institute, a local anti-suicide group for gay youth. After the anti-gay rant, Hardaway lost his advertising endorsements and income. "The endorsements will never come back. People have taken that and it's gone. I understand that. I'm trying to look for work and provide for my family," he said. "All that stuff has left me high and dry. I have to dig for work. Hardaway has repeatedly apologized for what he said, but still wants to know who's gay in the locker room: 'We have a right to know. We'd say, `How do you want to do this? Do you want to go into the shower first, or do you want me to go into the shower'"

Some people are fighting for LGBT youth and their right not to be harassed, others, well, they're fighting for the "right to know" who is in the locker room. Thanks for asking, Timmy. Sounds like you have some experience in these negotiations.

Tim Hardaway Becomes an Advocate for Gay and Trans Youth

At the same time national LGBT organizations and the gay and lesbian community have become embroiled in a major split over the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act without transgender protections, an unlikely person has emerged as an ally to trans youth: Tim Hardaway.

The former professional basketball player is much more infamous for telling a Miami radio station "I hate gay people, I am homophobic". That was eight months ago and apparently the formerly popular athlete has spent much of that time soul-searching. Hardaway has now become a volunteer at the YES Institute, a children's advocacy group based in South Miami and recently helped lead a discussion on safety and transgender youth. "He was so genuine,'' said Martha Fugate, the director of the YES Institute. "He gave the perfect answer."

There he was, in a classroom with about 40 people, mostly strangers and some of them gay, talking about the importance of education and awareness - pointing to himself as the perfect example of how attitudes can be reshaped with a little bit of knowledge.

"I just wanted to go in and get educated, that's all. Get educated on what I said and why I said those things,'' Hardaway [told] The Associated Press. "I'm working on understanding it now. I'm not really trying to make amends. I've been there trying to get help.''

It's an abrupt change of heart for the man who once boasted he would cross the street to avoid a gay person. After previously discounting the infamous anti-gay remarks as "just a comment", Hardaway now admits, "I had no idea how much I hurt people. A lot of people."

Hardaway's photo now appears on the groups website and his presence "is so valued [the YES Institute] released a letter earlier this month touting the work Hardaway has done."

Tim Hardaway's 180 degree turn on gay rights and homophobia—albeit contrived or genuine—is commendable. It's probably better to adopt a wait and see approach and watch him over the long term, but, if it's a genuine conversion, Hardaway could become a powerful role model. Who says a leopard can't change his spots?

More Tim Hardaaway here.

Contrite Tim Hardaway Now Embraced by Some in the Gay Community [Sports Illustrated]

You May Want to Read ...
Hardaway: Homophobic Rant "Just a Comment" [R20]
Amaechi Shines, Tim Learns the Hardaway [R20]
Inside the Locker Room [R20]
NBA Reprimands Hardaway [R20]
Nelson George on Evan Ross [R20]
Shaq and Wade Defend Gays [R20]
No Coming Out Party for Amaechi [R20]
"Tired of Having to Pretend" [R20]

Tim Hardaway Says Homophobic Rant "Was Just a Comment"

It has been almost four months since former NBA player Tim Hardaway effortlessly told a Miami radio station, "I hate gay people...I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States." Benjamin Hochman, respected sportswriter with the Times-Picayune, catches up with the talented but disgraced athlete at Pre-Draft Camp in Orlando.

An "unapologetic and terse" Hardaway dismisses his homophobic rant as mere "comment":

"It was just a comment, that's what it was to me. It's over with. I don't think about it...Let bygones be bygones. A lot of people are putting their foot in their mouths...

"When you say something positive, they don't write anything positive in the paper. Whatever people say now is taken out of context. Everybody is blowing stuff up. What can you do? People in the media need to start writing positive stuff."

Hardaway's revisionism blames "the media" for the cultural tsunami that swept him into disfavor, but, the five-time All-Star holds no ill will against the NBA for banning him from the All-Star games. Maybe that's because he is unemployed and looking for a coaching position.

On the other hand, Hardaway is curiously tight-lipped when asked if he has any regrets about his "comment" and remarks, "My people told me I can't get into that." Why would an adviser instruct him to dismiss the "comment", but, refuse to admit any regret? Unless, of course, "his people" are lawyers and litigation is on the horizon. Good luck.

Hardaway's Comments Won't Soon Be Forgotten [TP]

You May Want to Read ...

Amaechi Shines, Tim Learns the Hardaway [R20]
Inside the Locker Room [R20]
NBA Reprimands Hardaway [R20]
Nelson George on Evan Ross [R20]
Shaq and Wade Defend Gays [R20]
No Coming Out Party for Amaechi [R20]
"Tired of Having to Pretend" [R20]

John Amaechi on Coming Out: "I Underestimated America"

Former pro-basketball player John Amaechi says that before he publicly came out, he braced himself for a tidal wave of negative publicity that never materialized.

"I underestimated America. I braced myself for the wrath of a nation under God," Amaechi told the annual convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, the GOP"s largest gay organization. "I imagined that it would be a firestorm, that it would be some insane number of letters demanding my deportation or my death."

Amaechi says that 95 percent of his recent correspondence was "overwhelmingly supportive and positive" but the remaining 5 percent has been "unbelievably, viscerally, frighteningly negative."

Among those negative reactions were the homophobic rants of former NBA star player Tim Hardaway, whose hateful remarks led to his disassociation with the league.

Unfortunately, Hardaway's public remarks may reflect the private sentiments of many professional basketball players. Amaechi says that ever since he came out in February, he has yet to hear from a single former NBA teammate. "Probably 30 of my former [NBA] teammates have my e-mail and my telephone contacts," he told the convention. "And probably 16 or so of those I was in regular touch with and there are probably 10 people who I have [on instant messenger]. And zero—nobody—who's active in the NBA has been in touch with me since the day I came out, despite the fact that most of them knew I was gay in the first place."

Amaechi also wonders why nba.com has never mentioned his sexuality when it was such a major sports story everywhere else. In his speech, Amaechi argued that sports was slowly gay and lesbian athletes, but he wasn't sure if this reflected society's changing norms, or, even if sports was an appropriate barometer.

"Let's face it, for the most part, the stereotype is that they—we—are dumb as rocks. So, I don't know if they are a terribly good group to be looked at as kind of indicative of societal change or as leaders in that respect."

"I Underestimated America" [Edge]

You May Want to Read ...

Amaechi Shines, Tim Learns the Hardaway [R20]
Inside the Locker Room [R20]
NBA Reprimands Hardaway [R20]
Nelson George on Evan Ross [R20]
Shaq and Wade Defend Gays [R20]
No Coming Out Party for Amaechi [R20]
"Tired of Having to Pretend" [R20]

Amaechi Shines Through, While Tim Learns the Hardaway

More good news for John Amaechi, whose coming out elevated discussions of homophobia and slurs to national attention. HeadBlade, manufacturers of a head-shaving razor, has signed the former NBA player to a multi-year contract—the first time a mainstream company has sponsored an openly gay male athlete.

"I think it's fantastic that HeadBlade has approached me to endorse the brand," said Amaechi. "I jumped on the HeadBlade bandwagon the first time I found out about the product almost six years ago, and have been using it ever since."

HeadBlade CEO Todd Greene says Amaechi “is the perfect storm” because “he’s African-American, a basketball player and gay, and those are all huge demographics for us.” Here, here.

Just the opposite luck for the contrite and homophobic Tim Hardaway. Another manufacturer of men’s grooming essentials, Bald Guyz, recently fired him as their first athletic endorser. Hardaway has suffered numerous financial setbacks ever since his notorious anti-gay rant on a Miami radio show.

Last weekend, John Amaechi spoke at the National Black Justice Coalition's Second Annual Black Church Summit. His memoirs, Man in the Middle, remains on The New York Times bestseller list. In more ways than one, Amaechi continues to shrine through the negativity that accompanied his coming out.

Gay Athletes Slowly Enter the Endorsement Arena [NYT]

It's a deal: Amaechi to endorse head-shaving razor [KABC]

HeadBlade [official site]

You May Want to Read ...

Inside the Locker Room [R20] NBA Reprimands Hardaway [R20] Nelson George on Evan Ross [R20] Shaq and Wade Defend Gays [R20] No Coming Out Party for Amaechi [R20] "Tired of Having to Pretend" [R20]

Tim Hardaway's Crocodile Tears

Tim Hardaway just won't go away.

As much as we prefer not to give him airtime, it's almost impossible, especially given Hardaway's recent confessional to longtime friend childhood friend Scoop Jackson on ESPN's Page 2. Jackson prefaces the interview by asking, "What do you do when you see your friend in the middle of the ocean drowning?" Well, naturally, you thrown him a life preserver, but, if that friend is Tim Hardaway, he scorns the gesture and tosses it aside. Example: After Hardaway claimed he "doesn't have a hate bone" in his body, Jackson asks:

Tim, you've been in Miami for years now and there is a strong and public gay community there. How have you still held on to that same mentality while living in Miami all of these years?

I just get away from it. I just walk away. I see it, I just go the other way, cross the street.

As we said, Hardaway doesn't hate anyone, he simply crosses Collins Boulevard to avoid the circuit boys. Scoop tries one more to throw that lifeline, this time focusing on the central issue of what forces gay men into the closet:

OK, so let's say one of our boys, or better yet for the sake of this interview, what if I told you that I was gay. We've known each other all of our lives, came up together, we boys and all, and out of nowhere I spring that on you. Told you that the wife and kids were all a facade and that all of this time I've been gay. How would you accept that? Or would you? Would you end the friendship?

Wow. I don't know. I honestly don't know. Wow. I'd probably be or say something like, "Me and Scoop was tight until he told me this." Our friendship may not continue to be as tight as it is but I'd let you know that you could call me, talk to me whenever, something like that. I really wouldn't know how to react to that.

It's too simplistic to argue that athletes only reflect the sentiments of a larger, homophobic sports culture. At some point, leadership is necessary. Shana Naomi Krochmal at Out.com's Popnography offers a refreshing perspective on why athletes such as Hardaway insist upon wearing blinders:

It's the owners, front offices and league leadership. If all the commissioners came out tomorrow and said, "We have gay players, we welcome them, we encourage them to come out and will tolerate no bias against them in the locker room or on the field," which would in turn create the same kind of space for straight star players to make affirming statements like we saw this week, I think it'd be—well, as they say, it'd be a whole other ballgame.

Sheryl Swoopes agrees. The star of the Houston Comets, who came out under fire almost a year and a half ago, notes that Hardaway's celebrity compounded the issue: "Not only did they hurt and affect people like John [Amaechi] or me, but there are so many young kids out there, black white, boy, girl, but there are so many young kids out there dealing with their sexuality and to hear someone of Tim Hardaway's stature come out and make those comments like he made ... it's very detrimental."

Sheryl Swoopes on Tim Hardaway (You Tube via Zavier)

Getting Personal with Tim Hardaway (Popnography)

'I Don't Have a Hate Bone in My Body' (ESPN)

Some Background ...

Inside the Locker Room (Rod 2.0) NBA Reprimands Hardaway (Rod 2.0) Shaq and Wade Defend Gays (Rod 2.0) No Coming Out Party for Amaechi (Rod 2.0) News: Will Demps on Gays (Rod 2.0) Charles Barkley on Gay Marriage (Rod 2.0) On the "Outside Looking In" (Rod 2.0) Out of Bounds (Rod 2.0) "Tired of Having to Pretend" (Rod 2.0) Rio Ferdinand Apologizes (Rod 2.0)

Inside the Locker Room

Tim Hardaway's infamous anti-gay rant may have seen like it came out of left field, but John Amaechi has seen that much and more inside NBA locker rooms, where he says "homosexuality is an obsession among ball players." Man in the Middle, an autobiography of his life as a closeted gay man in the NBA, hits the book shelves today. In one passage, Amaechi describes the sexually charged yet intensely homophobic atmosphere:

The NBA locker room was the most flamboyant place I'd ever seen. Guys flaunted their perfect bodies. They bragged about sexual exploits. They primped in front of the mirror, applying cologne and hair gel by the bucketful. They tried on each other's $10,000 suits, admired each other's rings and necklaces. It was an intense camaraderie that felt completely natural to them. Surveying the room, I couldn't help chuckling to myself: And I'm the gay one.

Homosexuality is an obsession among ball players, trailing only wealth and women. The guys I played with just didn't like "fags"—or so they insisted over and over again. But they didn't understand fags enough to truly loathe them. Most were convinced, even as they sat next to me on the plane or threw me the ball in the post, that they had never met one.

The irony of Amaechi's memoir is that it directly confronts the inherent ignorance of homophobia in sports. This was exemplified by Hardaway and Philadelphia 76ers forward rookie player Shavlik Randolph, who said gay players were okay "as long as you don't bring your gayness on me." Their comments reflect their general insecurity with gays, assuming any encounter would be predatory and sexual. (And we've seen Hardway nude, sorry, not very impressed.) John Amaechi proves there were gays in the locker room ... and nothing happened.

Man in the Middle (Amazon)

Former NBA Player Coming Out a Positive Step Toward Gay and Black Civil Rights (La Voz)

Some Background ...

NBA Reprimands Hardaway (Rod 2.0)
No Coming Out Party for Amaechi (Rod 2.0)
News: Will Demps on Gays (Rod 2.0)
Charles Barkley on Gay Marriage (Rod 2.0)
On the "Outside Looking In" (Rod 2.0)
Out of Bounds (Rod 2.0)
Rio Ferdinand Apologizes After "Faggot" Remark (Rod 2.0)

Hardaway Latest: Shaquille and Dwyane Wade Defend Gays

Former NBA guard Tim Hardaway's inflammatory comments about gays turned him into a pariah at the All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas. First, the league swiftly defused the explosive situation by "uninviting" Hardaway from numerous weekend appearances. Players took notice and no one is helping Hardaway out of the hole that he so infamously dug for himself—especially his former Miami Heat teammates who were represented in the game.

Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade, seen together here, both offered progressive, tolerant views on the questions of gays in sports. "I was always taught as a youngster to never judge people," O'Neal said. "So I never judge people, and to each their own. If he was my teammate, and people ridiculed him and jumped on him, I would probably have to protect him."

Rod 2.0 fave Dwyane Wade said a teammate's sexual orientation would not be the most important factor in their personal relationship. "Anybody who knows me knows I'm a guy who loves his teammates," D-Wade said. "And if anything ever comes up like that, I don't look at that. I look at what guys can do for you on the court. And in the locker room you have great relationships with guys. I don't have any negative views."

Heat forward Jason Kapono said Hardaway represented a minority viewpoint. "Everyone has their own views on life, and that's something that's obviously his point of view, but that's definitely not the point of view of all the rest of us."

Speaking on TNT, NBA legend Charles Barkley—who previously has supported gay athletes and same-sex marriage—rebuked Hardaway's hateful rampage: "I played with gay guys. I got gay friends. Only God can judge other people. I don't care if a person is gay or not. Any jock who thinks he's never played with a gay guy is sadly mistaken."

More reaction to Hardway's anti-gay rant from powerful team owners. Gavin Maloof, whose family owns the Sacramento Kings, announced he wouldn’t allow a player on his team who shared Hardaway’s views. “What he said was wrong,” Maloof stated. “I’m sure he’s apologized, but the damage has been done and he never should have said it.”

Finally, you knew this story had to end with nude photos of Tim Hardaway. Over the weekend, after his name was forcibly removed from the car wash he co-owns in south Florida, Hardaway was flamed and taunted on several websites , which published YouTube footage of a naked Hardaway in the locker room. Our verdict: He's okay, but certainly no Dwyane Wade, in "many" more ways than one.

Heat Stars Express Tolerance (Sun Setinel)

Tim Hardaway's car wash changes name after ''I hate'' scandal (Miami Herald)

Las Vegas welcomes All-Stars (Journal Gazette)

Charles Barkley Responds To Hardaway (Keith Boykin)

Some Background ....

NBA Reprimands Hardaway (Rod 2.0) No Coming Out Party for Amaechi (Rod 2.0) News: Will Demps on Gays (Rod 2.0) Charles Barkley on Gay Marriage (Rod 2.0) Dwyane Wade in GQ (Rod 2.0) NBA Finals: Game Two (Rod 2.0) NBA Finals: Game One (Rod 2.0) December Clikque (Rod 2.0) On the "Outside Looking In" (Rod 2.0) Out of Bounds (Rod 2.0) Rio Ferdinand Apologizes After "Faggot" Remark (Rod 2.0)

NBA Reprimands Hardaway

The National Basketball Association removed Tim Hardaway from its All-Star weekend activities, one day after the former ball player said, ''I hate gay people'' in a radio interview.

The NBA canceled all of Hardaway's events scheduled for this weekend, including an appearance as an ''NBA Legend'' at the YMCA of Southern Nevada and participation in the NBA's community caravan leading up to Sunday's All-Star game in Las Vegas.

"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 issued by the league.

In a Wednesday radio interview with the Miami Herald's chief sports columnist, the former Miami Heat guard criticized the recent coming out of John Amaechi. Haradway insisted that he would never play on a team with an openly gay man and offered these choice observations: "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 am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States."

Former NBA center John Amaechi says Hardaway's anti-gay rant demonstrates "the need to continue the conversation" about homophobia in society in general and sports in particular. "I don't need Tim's comments to realize there's a problem," Amaechi told The Associated Press. "People said that I should just shut up and go away—now they have to rethink that."

Hardaway has also been associated with Nike and Dorritos. No word yet on the status of those endorsement deals.

NBA Rebukes Hardaway for Anti-Gay Rant (Miami Herald)

Amaechi Urges Talk About Gays in Sports (AP)

Hardaway: I Wouldn't Play with a Gay Man (Fox Sports)

Some Background ...

No Coming Out Party for Amaechi (Rod 2.0) News: Will Demps on Gays (Rod 2.0) Charles Barkley on Gay Marriage (Rod 2.0) On the "Outside Looking In" (Rod 2.0) Out of Bounds (Rod 2.0) Rio Ferdinand Apologizes After "Faggot" Remark (Rod 2.0)