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viktor_haagI was listening to a Canadian sports panel last week, and they were talking about the "ramifications" of the recent John Amaechi self-outing. The panel seemed pretty evenly split on reporters that
• Thought the world was getting more accepting and that it really didn't matter and that eventually, someday soon, a professional athlete in one of the big four leagues would out himself while he was still active
• Thought that the members of the first camp were insane, that pro sports is incredibly homophobic, and that it would be a long, long time before any pro athlete felt safe enough to out himself while active
The only pro athlete I've actually seen first hand comment on the issue has been Charles Barkley, and love him or hate him, Sir Charles actually had a reasonable response. Essentially, that you're an idiot if you think that there aren't gay athletes playing in the league, an idiot if you think that people don't know that there are gay athletes, and who a lot of them are, and also, by the way, pretty much an idiot if you think it matters.
Then, this morning, we get reports of this gem from former NBA super-stah Tim Hardaway (remember Run TMC?) in conversation with outspoken reporter-lebrity Dan LeBatard:
League commissioner David Stern had this to say:
And apparently nixed any future chance of Hardaway having any "league related appearances" (which I guess means, "we're not going to use you as advertising any more").
Frankly, I think Stern is talking out his ass. When Hardaway made the comments, he was not appearing for or speaking for the NBA, as far as I know. Secondly, Hardaway has a right to his opinion, much as we might like to think it small-minded. Thirdly, the league's own record on sex and gender related issues has not been great -- when the league decides it's time to ban "dance packs" (cheerleaders), I'll start assuming that they're beginning to be concerned about gender issues.
[Ed.: OK, Stern was not totally talking out his ass. Apparently, Hardaway had been scheduled to participate in a variety of allstar weekend events, and now will be told to keep his angry butt at home. But that still doesn't excuse the cheerleaders.]
Amaechi himself appears to have had something much more intelligent to say:
Awesome!
Hardaway later "apologized" in the "I'm sorry you were hurt by what I said" fashion. And I reject his apology. No, Tim. Please -- trumpet your homophobia from the rooftops. As long as we have sober comments from guys like those from Amaechi to go along with it, I think we'd all be better off if this debate were held out in the open. After all, the "don't ask, don't tell" attitude has gotten us so much farther to this point, hasn't it.
And then, I started thinking about the situation a little more. First, let me be clear, I think Hardaway behaved like a bigotted jackass.
However, if I was required, for my business, to work closely with a small group of men and women, all of whom were straight (and in great shape). And I were required to change in front of these people. Be naked in front of these people. Shower with these people. On a near daily basis. In foreign cities, well away from my home. I wonder how I might feel about that? I wonder how my wife might feel about that? I wonder how my locker mates, some of whom might find me sexually attractive, might feel about that?
It seems to me that the dynamic of the locker room changes dramatically when some of the folks in that room might in fact be sexually attracted to other folks in that room, and everyone in the room is conscious of that.
It's relatively easy to say that sexual preference doesn't matter in "the professional workplace" where we're encouraged by regular corporate indoctrination sessions to not be sexual beings at all, at all, of any kind, when we're at work.
But I don't have to shower with my office mates. Or get in close physical proximity with them on a daily basis.
(All quotes taken from an ESPN news service web article.)
• Thought the world was getting more accepting and that it really didn't matter and that eventually, someday soon, a professional athlete in one of the big four leagues would out himself while he was still active
• Thought that the members of the first camp were insane, that pro sports is incredibly homophobic, and that it would be a long, long time before any pro athlete felt safe enough to out himself while active
The only pro athlete I've actually seen first hand comment on the issue has been Charles Barkley, and love him or hate him, Sir Charles actually had a reasonable response. Essentially, that you're an idiot if you think that there aren't gay athletes playing in the league, an idiot if you think that people don't know that there are gay athletes, and who a lot of them are, and also, by the way, pretty much an idiot if you think it matters.
Then, this morning, we get reports of this gem from former NBA super-stah Tim Hardaway (remember Run TMC?) in conversation with outspoken reporter-lebrity Dan LeBatard:
"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 ...
First of all, I wouldn't want [a gay player] on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that's right. And you know I don't think he should be in the locker room while we're in the locker room. I wouldn't even be a part of that,"
League commissioner David Stern had this to say:
"It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours,"
And apparently nixed any future chance of Hardaway having any "league related appearances" (which I guess means, "we're not going to use you as advertising any more").
Frankly, I think Stern is talking out his ass. When Hardaway made the comments, he was not appearing for or speaking for the NBA, as far as I know. Secondly, Hardaway has a right to his opinion, much as we might like to think it small-minded. Thirdly, the league's own record on sex and gender related issues has not been great -- when the league decides it's time to ban "dance packs" (cheerleaders), I'll start assuming that they're beginning to be concerned about gender issues.
[Ed.: OK, Stern was not totally talking out his ass. Apparently, Hardaway had been scheduled to participate in a variety of allstar weekend events, and now will be told to keep his angry butt at home. But that still doesn't excuse the cheerleaders.]
Amaechi himself appears to have had something much more intelligent to say:
"Finally, someone who is honest. It is ridiculous, absurb, 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."
Awesome!
Hardaway later "apologized" in the "I'm sorry you were hurt by what I said" fashion. And I reject his apology. No, Tim. Please -- trumpet your homophobia from the rooftops. As long as we have sober comments from guys like those from Amaechi to go along with it, I think we'd all be better off if this debate were held out in the open. After all, the "don't ask, don't tell" attitude has gotten us so much farther to this point, hasn't it.
And then, I started thinking about the situation a little more. First, let me be clear, I think Hardaway behaved like a bigotted jackass.
However, if I was required, for my business, to work closely with a small group of men and women, all of whom were straight (and in great shape). And I were required to change in front of these people. Be naked in front of these people. Shower with these people. On a near daily basis. In foreign cities, well away from my home. I wonder how I might feel about that? I wonder how my wife might feel about that? I wonder how my locker mates, some of whom might find me sexually attractive, might feel about that?
It seems to me that the dynamic of the locker room changes dramatically when some of the folks in that room might in fact be sexually attracted to other folks in that room, and everyone in the room is conscious of that.
It's relatively easy to say that sexual preference doesn't matter in "the professional workplace" where we're encouraged by regular corporate indoctrination sessions to not be sexual beings at all, at all, of any kind, when we're at work.
But I don't have to shower with my office mates. Or get in close physical proximity with them on a daily basis.
(All quotes taken from an ESPN news service web article.)
