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. 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.Former NBA star Tim Hardaway speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle about homophobic remarks he made 15 years ago.
Related: Tim Hardaway believes saying “I hate gay people” cost him his place in the NBA Hall of Fame
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BEARY FLINTSTONE
Okay now lets move on!
Cam
THAT is an actual apology where somebody says they’re wrong, and feel differently, etc… Good for him. And growing up in the church, no surprise he used to feel that way.
Kangol2
I’m glad he’s apologizing fully, though he’s still obscuring what he actually did years ago, which did involve “talking bad about” LGBTQ people.
He said: “”Well, 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.” He also said he’d try to get a gay teammate fired. This was after former player John Amaechi came out publicly in 2007.
But clearly he’s realized the errors of his ways. He was the first player to call Jason Collins with support when he came out in 2013 as an active player. He also was one of the first signatories on Florida’s petition to legalize same-sex marriage in 2013. He actively works with pro-LGBTQ groups and is apologizing again, which is a big deal. I would guess his son, Tim Hardaway Jr., also a pro basketball player and a great one like his father, is much more open in terms of dealing with LGBTQ than Daddy was.