Everyone is allowed to have their own opinion. Perhaps there is a legit reason why he doesn't like them. If there is then he is entitled to his opinion I think. but in hindsight he probably shouldn't voice it to the world media.

Sure, he's allowed to have his own opinion and embarrass himself expressing it in front of the world basketball media.

Hardaway and LeBron to write a new book..
How to Make idiots of yourselves and really piss off people.

Timmy - you`re not fooling anyone (it`s okay to be gay... )

;)

Looks like someone is jealous... You know what they say about mega-homophobes... i.e. "He`s so homophobic he can`t be gay..." => Translation: "He`s so homophobic he`s flaming on the inside... so much so that it hurts..." (see American Beauty)

Pity - i always liked Hardaway, i always thought him a bit dim (clearly evidenced by this) but semed like a decent enough guy and a fine player...

Oh well - it`s his opinion... he`s entitled to it - but that`s about it...

He did play for the Warriors - which is VERY close to you know where... Where there are lots of you know whats... That might be his reason King James...

Pretty harmless statement (in the scheme of things - he could have worded it a bit differently though...)- that the media has picked up and made all they can of...

Rolling out "hate" crosses the line completely IMO. It's weak and unintelligent thinking. He could've used "don't understand", "feel uncomfortable around", "disagree with, due to my religious background, ", "generally don't get along with", "have been raised by the populace to dislike the idea of".

Isaac, he could have just qualified it with "not that there's anything wrong with that"

119792, yet busting out "hate"?

lockstock, don't get me started on that - worst gift Seinfeld ever left for us.

Isaac - with Seinfeld`s lampooning of the A Few Good Men "You can`t handle the truth" running a close second... they ruined a powerful scene - and have rendered a bit of a joke... You can`t tell me you don`t get a bit of a wry smile washing over your face everytime you watch that scene...

119792 I am a christian and I would never say I hate someone regardless of there decisions on sexuality.

It is wrong to presume he is religious!!!

Yeah the thing that I thought made him sound stupid was saying "I would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that's right".

He gave no justification for why he thought it was wrong. No reasoning just makes him sound ignorant.

Kind of sounds similar to why racist people don't like another race. They just hate them for no reason other than that they are different...

Jesus if Hardaway said that what the hell is Barkley going to have to say for himself?!

If he is religious, then shame on him and anyone who talks of hate or bad treatment of another human being, few things disgust me more than hypocrisy especially that displayed by so called Christians who speak of loving all..then demonstrate hate of anyone who isnt Christian.

If he is not religious, then shame on him for being so intolerant, in this world, surely we should save our "hate" for people who commit evil acts...not for people who have different needs.

I'm an atheist, thank Christ.

Just a point - Christians dont "hate" homosexuals, or anyone else due to life preferences.

Most Christians live by the motto "love the sinner, but not the sin"

just as an aside,

In my understanding, homosexuality is not a choice. does one choose to be heterosexual?

No, it is not a choice.

Read an interesting article on Slate the other day about gay sheep being a problem for farmers - a gay ram isn't exactly effective for breeding purposes, so they were examining the make up of the brain and seeing if it was something that could be 'reversed' or 'altered' - slippery slope...

Maybe but I think you still make the choice to act on your sexual preference.

Everything in life is a choice.

mmm

In a way I believe you're right.

Choose to fit the norm and pretend to be straight:
Live in denial and be miserable.
Get married and lie to the person you're married to.
Constantly feel unfulfilled in life.
Have children and lie to them too.

Or have the strength to follow what you feel:
Be honest to yourself and those around you.
Have a relationship with someone which is truly open and loving.
Have no pressure to live up to an unrealistic expectation.
Be the person that you are.

Currently there are plenty of reasons why someone who is attracted to a person of the same sex would pretend and try to fit into society's expectations of them. (e.g. dating and then settling down with someone of the opposite sex, getting married having children etc.) IMO to suggest anyone should choose that option is quite ignorant and unfair.

Suicide and depression rates for gay teenager boys in particular is a huge issue which no one wants to accept or deal with. The pressures placed on these boys by their families and peers lead to major long term problems, or in a lot of cases self abuse and suicide.

Comments like Tim Hardaway's only make life even more difficult for those living in hiding and those already out and honest about whom they are.

As someone who has tried to help and seen the damage done by choosing to be straight I personally wouldn't be recommending that as an option to anyone.

Wow I didn't think anyone could be that pathetic. Obviously Hardaway has a little too much time on his hands to "think" now that he is retired. JohnnySack makes a very good point about homophobes...they are all gay, they just don't have the courage to be honest with themselves, so it takes such energy as voicing homophobic views to keep reassuring themselves that it is "wrong" and they are not gay. I cannot believe people make such a big deal about sexuality. At the end of the day, it is such a small part of who someone really is. It almost seems that heteros are more interested in homosexuality than gay people are. Go to any gay club, and half the time it is dominated by straight people who think they will walk in and be cracked onto by every gay person in sight. Does anyone think that gay people actually have had enough of straight people? Gay people are expected to suppress their sexuality (no affection in public etc) while they have to put up with looking at heteros constantly being affectionate. Does anyone actually think that may make a gay person cringe?? At the end of the day, I guess it doesn't surprise me that people in the US, and in Australia, have similar views when the governments doesn't even acknowledge gay relationships. There is nothing more satisfying than paying high taxes and being treated as a second-class citizen.

Wow....very suprising statement in todays times. I don't agree with what he said at all and I agree that it is a bit of an arrogant/unintelligent comment to make. I used to like Timmy and his killer crossover. It's just a shame some athletes are allowed to open their mouths sometimes.

*whoops thats a bit of a hypocritical statement*

You know a web forum has made it when you have a debate which includes religion and gay rams.

'Hate' is too much of a strong word for a topic like this. He needs to be more sensible if he's going to wag his mouth of like that.

Nothing like using a sledge hammer to get your point across, pity his point is inappropriate and unwelcome.

Sure, that's all fair enough, but let's avoid generalisations, even if Hardaway did do it first!

BTW, interesting article:

Hardaway's words of hate are yesterday's news
By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com

Never mind that Hardaway played at the same university and for the same coach who, years earlier, helped destroy racial stereotypes by starting five African-American players against all-white Kentucky in the 1966 NCAA Final Four championship game. But the lessons of tolerance taught by Don Haskins at Texas-El Paso somehow were forgotten by Hardaway. Or maybe they were never remembered in the first place.

119946

The people that perform those barbaric acts are extremists - the same way the Muslim extremists did the acts of 9/11.

You will fiind their acts do not receive support from mainstream day to day religous people, regardless of their beleiefs (and even most non religous people too!)

As far as being gay, I strongly beleive the persons feelings and preferences are not a choice, to act on them is a choice. Good on Hardaway for at least admitting to his issues, but they could have been worded better.

UPDATE:

The NBA removes Hardaway from all NBA related appearances:

"After the tirade, NBA commissioner David Stern confirmed that they would no longer be using Hardaway to promote the game on-behalf of the Association"

"http://www.eurosport.com/basketball/nba/2006-2007/sport_sto1087828.shtml"

And on Barkley, he did have something to say, but it wasn't nearly as controversial as I thought it could be:

"Hey, nobody cares John Amaechi is gay,' Barkley said. ``I just find it humorous and amazing people think we care if someone is gay or not. It is always fun to hear these reporters say how we'd treat them in the locker room. Trust me, we'd treat reporters a lot worse than we treat a gay guy"

Tame for his standards. Full article:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/16703001.htm

I'm with you Mott!

It's not always good to say what you think. Hardaway's insght has the potential to incite.

Congrats to all concerned, as stated earlier, you know a forum has made it when an issue such as this can be discussed sensibly, different opinions can be stated without name calling etc.

as always Isaac, thanks for the provision of it.

just slightly off topic, but check out this (sort of) related article...

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/john_amaechi_comes_out_as_former

If this topic proves anything it proves that the 20 or 30 odd people that have posted here are not homophobic or gay haters - it is refreshing. On the other side of the coin it is also good to see it has not gone down the road of Christian hating.

Sometimes we all spurt rubbish on this forum but it is good to see an intelligent discussion.

very happy to read all the posts.

Where did I say I was a bigot?

I do not beleive I have said I hate gays, and couldnt be further from the truth. It is a bit of a cliche, but I can honestly say one of my closest friends is gay, and I love her to death.

Yes, my religous beleifs mean I do not agree with her lifestyle, it does not mean I love her any less. In fact I have attended many a Feast event with her, and have her and her partner over for dinner on a regular basis.

Damn, now I'm getting all defensive again. I am not a bigot, by any imagination..all I said is well done to Hardaway for having the cojones to express his feelings when he had to know the outrafe it would cuase...pity he didnt word it better.

I never understand that comment:
"my religous beleifs mean I do not agree with her lifestyle". That is easy for a non-gay religous person to say.

What do you do if you are gay and are religous? Kill yourself? Of course not! You go on and be just as good a person as the next religous person.

What would you do if you were gay, yogee? I don't think being gay is a 'lifestyle' choice, its just how you are born.

This is in no way intended to be personal, but yogee, if you congratulate hardaway for expressing his feelings, will you also congratulate him or anyone else who has the "cojones" to state they hate black people, white people, Australians, Asians?

He is wrong to hold them! he is wrong to state them! and you are wrong to congratulate him!!

Perhaps you should ask your close friend how she feels about your comments and how they make her feel?

I'm pretty sure Lebron and Timmy wouldn't be getting all uncomfortable if it was your friend in the changeroom yogee