‘It was so wrong of me’: Tim Hardaway on gay hate comments – ClutchPoints
Tim Hardaway is a homophobe. He made this abundantly clear some 15 years ago when he came out with some truly hurtful comments against gay people.
Things have changed for the Miami Heat icon in a major way, though. The 55-year-old recently backtracked on his previous statement, saying that this was just the way he was brought up. Hardaway apologized for his grave misjudgment in a recent interview with Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle:
“I grew up in a church, and that’s the way churches were — they instilled in you that (homosexuality) wasn’t the way you should be,” Hardaway said. “I was just taught differently. Don’t talk to them, don’t mess with them, leave them alone. I never tried to talk bad about them or do hateful stuff. It was just my upbringing in church. But I’ll tell you this: It was so wrong of me, and people have suffered. I had to grow up and really do some soul-searching. What I said was just hurtful.”
For those that require context, here was Hardaway’s statement from 2007:
“Well, you know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known,” Hardaway said. “I don’t like gay people. 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.”
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Times have changed so drastically from a decade and a half ago and it’s good to know that Hardaway has realized his erroneous ways. There’s no denying that he said some very nasty things in the past, and regardless of how he was brought up, there’s just no excuse. Tim Hardaway’s apology seems heartfelt, though, so I guess this man deserves a chance to redeem himself.
Hardaway, a six-time All-Star, played six seasons each for the Heat and the Golden State Warriors. He also had stints with the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, and Indiana Pacers. The 6-foot point guard holds career averages of 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 8.2 assists, and 1.6 steals in 13 years in the NBA. Hardaway was named into the Hall of Fame as part of this year’s class. He is the father of Mavs shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr.
