"Moral indignation is jealousy with a halo."
-English Author H.G. Wells
By John McMullen
Tim Hardaway is part of the problem in more ways than you think.
The obvious inference to that statement regards his uneducated, terribly backward views on homosexuals.
On February 14, Hardaway admitted he was homophobic during an interview on Dan Le Batard's Miami radio program. The discussion was spurred by the recent outing of retired NBA player John Amaechi.
"First of all I wouldn’t want him on my team," Hardaway told Le Batard. "Second of all, if he was on my team I would really distance myself from him because I don’t think that’s right and I don’t think he should be in the locker room when we’re in the locker room. Something has to give, If you have 12 other ball players 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."
Le Batard correctly quickly labelled those remarks as homophobic and bigoted but Hardaway didn't back down. "Well, you know, I hate gay people. I let it be known I don’t like gay people. I don’t like to be around gay people. I’m homophobic. It shouldn’t be in the world, in the United States, I don’t like it."
Later that day in an interview with Miami's WFOR-TV, Hardaway stood by his earlier comments. He also alleged that many other players in the NBA share his belief that homosexuality is wrong, and that he would respond the same way toward a gay family member.
After all those bombs landed few could defend Hardaway and even fewer wanted too.
But, the intolerance of his right to express his opinions was quite striking and highlighted another problem in our increasingly politically correct society.
"In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude."
-George Washington
The multitude certainly spoke in the Hardaway case and the former Miami Heat star's dissent to the world of political correctness was viewed as unfavorable to say the least.
The NBA responded by removing him from its All-Star Weekend activities and future appearances.
"It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours," NBA commissioner David Stern said.
Meanwhile Hardaway's employer, the Continental Basketball Association's Indiana Alleycats, fired him.
"The CBA does not in any way condone or endorse the hateful comments made by Mr. Hardaway to ESPN yesterday," the team said in a release. "Mr. Hardaway’s comments were unfortunate, hateful and are not the views of the CBA or any of its member teams. It is our fervent belief that any person should be allowed to participate in our league, regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, political preference or sexual orientation, without fear of reprisal or discrimination."
It didn't end there, a Miami car wash co-owned by Hardaway, "Hardaway's US 1 Finest Hand Car Wash," was immediately renamed to "Grand Luxe Auto Bathe" in an effort to gain distance from the former guard with the killer crossover.
He was also ridiculed in dozens of media outlets across the country.
And to most, it didn't matter -- Hardaway deserved it all.
But, in the grand scheme of things, were Hardaway's critics any better than he was?
"The United States can be proud that it has institutions and a structure that permit its citizens to express honest dissent.
-The New York Times
If you actually value freedom of speech, dissenting views have to be tolerated no matter how hateful. Objective observers have to realize Hardaway had every right to express his opinions and Amaechi, of all people, was one of the few to understand that.
"Finally, someone who is honest," Amaechi said to the Miami Herald. "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."
That said, any private organization has the right to distance itself from a man that expresses opinions contrary to how they want to be identified. The NBA and Hardaway's other employers had every right to keep Hardaway at arm's length.
But it doesn't make them right -- It just makes them part of a problem with no solution in sight.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
Mark Twain
-English Author H.G. Wells
By John McMullen
Tim Hardaway is part of the problem in more ways than you think.
The obvious inference to that statement regards his uneducated, terribly backward views on homosexuals.
On February 14, Hardaway admitted he was homophobic during an interview on Dan Le Batard's Miami radio program. The discussion was spurred by the recent outing of retired NBA player John Amaechi.
"First of all I wouldn’t want him on my team," Hardaway told Le Batard. "Second of all, if he was on my team I would really distance myself from him because I don’t think that’s right and I don’t think he should be in the locker room when we’re in the locker room. Something has to give, If you have 12 other ball players 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."
Le Batard correctly quickly labelled those remarks as homophobic and bigoted but Hardaway didn't back down. "Well, you know, I hate gay people. I let it be known I don’t like gay people. I don’t like to be around gay people. I’m homophobic. It shouldn’t be in the world, in the United States, I don’t like it."
Later that day in an interview with Miami's WFOR-TV, Hardaway stood by his earlier comments. He also alleged that many other players in the NBA share his belief that homosexuality is wrong, and that he would respond the same way toward a gay family member.
After all those bombs landed few could defend Hardaway and even fewer wanted too.
But, the intolerance of his right to express his opinions was quite striking and highlighted another problem in our increasingly politically correct society.
"In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude."
-George Washington
The multitude certainly spoke in the Hardaway case and the former Miami Heat star's dissent to the world of political correctness was viewed as unfavorable to say the least.
The NBA responded by removing him from its All-Star Weekend activities and future appearances.
"It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours," NBA commissioner David Stern said.
Meanwhile Hardaway's employer, the Continental Basketball Association's Indiana Alleycats, fired him.
"The CBA does not in any way condone or endorse the hateful comments made by Mr. Hardaway to ESPN yesterday," the team said in a release. "Mr. Hardaway’s comments were unfortunate, hateful and are not the views of the CBA or any of its member teams. It is our fervent belief that any person should be allowed to participate in our league, regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, political preference or sexual orientation, without fear of reprisal or discrimination."
It didn't end there, a Miami car wash co-owned by Hardaway, "Hardaway's US 1 Finest Hand Car Wash," was immediately renamed to "Grand Luxe Auto Bathe" in an effort to gain distance from the former guard with the killer crossover.
He was also ridiculed in dozens of media outlets across the country.
And to most, it didn't matter -- Hardaway deserved it all.
But, in the grand scheme of things, were Hardaway's critics any better than he was?
"The United States can be proud that it has institutions and a structure that permit its citizens to express honest dissent.
-The New York Times
If you actually value freedom of speech, dissenting views have to be tolerated no matter how hateful. Objective observers have to realize Hardaway had every right to express his opinions and Amaechi, of all people, was one of the few to understand that.
"Finally, someone who is honest," Amaechi said to the Miami Herald. "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."
That said, any private organization has the right to distance itself from a man that expresses opinions contrary to how they want to be identified. The NBA and Hardaway's other employers had every right to keep Hardaway at arm's length.
But it doesn't make them right -- It just makes them part of a problem with no solution in sight.
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
Mark Twain
1 comment:
This is really well written. And right to a point I never thought of. I was so mad at Hardaway, I failed to realize even words of hate should be classified as free speech. Awesome stuff.
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