Tim Hardaway
Tim Hardaway made my recent column look genius saying that the NBA isn't ready for an openly gay player look like genius. It's clear that there's a homophobia problem in the NBA. That a former player could say he hates gay people -- not just would be uncomfortable around them or feel nervous -- but feel full of hate is a major problem.
Helen Carroll, the sports project director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said she belives the main reason is the insular culture of athletics. Athletes are segregated from "average people" by posses. They spend their weekends with other athletes. Even when they do go to class at college, they're not often not conversing or interacting with other people. They talk to other athletes, they sit in the back of the classrooms bobbing their head to cell phones. They never take time to deal with gay people in the real world and in their world, all the gay people are hiding.
I still rememer when I learned how much it can hurt gay people to hear the way that straight people often talk about them. I had a friend who was a lesbian. I never thought much of it. At lunch, during my senior year of high school, I shot our the flippant "That's gay," when a friend told me we had an English test the next day.
I looked over and my friend's eyes couldn't hide her hurt. She asked me never to say that again.
"Sure, no problem," I said without thinking.
Once I did think about it, I realized I'd replaced a negative word with gay. In essence, I was calling gay people lame, horrible and unpleasant. I didn't belive any of these things.
I won't say I don't stereotype, because we all do. The goal is to treat people fairly and respectfully.
Since that slip I've been far better at throwing my words around. It's something we should all work towards.