King of Crossover No More

When former NBA player John Amaechi came out of the closet this week, many around the sports world praised him for his courage. Not former NBA All-Star Tim Hardway, however. Here's what he had to say. "First of all, I wouldn't want him 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. 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."     Hardaway immediately lost his job with the NBA promoting All-Star Weekend, and rightfully so. As for a rant on the topic, I'm all out of energy for today. I'm going to instead direct you to Sports Illustrated columnist Jack McCallum, who wrote a terrific piece about this today. Check it out here.     I'd just like to add that Hardaway's bullshit retraction and apology are weak. He obviously knows how he feels, and he clearly feels strongly about the subject. So stand up in the face of confrontation, stand by your words, and say what you really feel, Tim. Be a man and don't hide behind your beliefs. That is all.