Teammates in hate: Basketball's Bill Donohue

From debates over marriage to adoption, the shameful bigotry of homophobia takes many forms. One of the last fully undiscovered frontiers of the issue is athletics. Last week, former NBA center John Amaechi came out as a gay man, a brave move in the world of sports. Reactions, as you would expect, have been varied. Some league athletes - from Shavlik Randolph to Steven Hunter to LeBron James - reacted to the news at arm's length. Others - Charles Barkley, Grant Hill, Shaquille O'Neal and coach Doc Rivers - were very supportive. Said Randolph, "As long as you don't bring your gayness on me, I'm fine." Hunter, in taking a similar tack, said, "As long as he don't make any advances toward me I'm fine with it. As long as he came to play basketball like a man and conducted himself as a good person, I'd be fine with it." James's statement, meanwhile, reveals that the superstar still has some growing to do: "With teammates you have to be trustworthy, and if you're gay and you're not admitting that you are, then you are not trustworthy. So that's like the number one thing as teammates ... we all trust each other. You've heard of the in-room locker room code. What happens in the locker room stays there. It's a trust factor." Others in the basketball community stood with Amaechi.

Said Barkley, "It shouldn't be a big deal to anybody. I know I've played with gay players and against gay players and it just shouldn't surprise anybody or be any issue." Hill, accordingly, said, "The fact that John has done this, maybe it will give others the comfort or confidence to come out as well, whether they are playing or retired." And O'Neal, in contrast to James's thoughts, added, "If he was on my team, I guess I would have to protect him from the outsiders. I'm not homophobic or anything. ... I'm not the type who judges people. I wish him well." One of Amaechi's former coaches, Rivers, was impressive in his words as well. "He's better than a good kid; he's a fantastic kid. John Amaechi, when I was coaching him, was a great kid. He did as much charity work as anybody in our city, and he's still doing it. That's what I wish we focused on. Unfortunately, we're talking about his sexual orientation, which I couldn't care a flying flip about." Added Rivers, "It was brought up to me and you look and say, 'So what? Can he rebound? Can he shoot? Can he defend?'" Making the comparison to another trailblazer, Rivers said, "It was difficult for people to watch Jackie Robinson, and they got used to it. They started watching him and started cheering for him. It would be difficult for fans if the guy couldn't play. That's what's difficult to me; nothing else should matter."

Though this is only a sampling of athlete opinion on the heels of Amaechi's announcement, what we hadn't yet seen - thought we saw some brief glimpses in those of Randolph, Hunter and James - were the words of an out-and-out homophobe. Until now. Until we heard from former NBAer Tim Hardaway. Hardaway, once the king of the killer crossover, has a new title to his "credit" - king of the showstopping bigot. From MY BRAIN IS MADE OF THINGS MADE OF GOLD, we see this exchange between Hardaway and radio host/print journalist Dan LeBatard:

How do you deal with a gay teammate?

First of all I wouldn't want them on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, you know, I would really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that is right. I don't think he should be in the locker room while we are in the locker room, and it's just a whole lot of other things and I wouldn't even be a part of that.

But stuff like that is going on and there's a lot of other people I hear that are like that and still in the closet and don't want to come out of the closet, but you know I just leave that alone.

(snip)

You know what you are saying there is flatly homophobic? It's bigotry?

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. So yeah, I don't like it.

There's more there, believe me - "And I think the majority of players would ask for him to be traded or they would want to be traded. Or buy him out of his contract and just let him go." - but why go on when that last paragraph says it all: "I hate gay people". Though he has since apologized, there's no walking back from that. Perhaps, as Shakespeare's Sister notes, Hardaway will soon be off to rehab. Back in the present, however, the league that gave Hardaway the chance to showcase his skills has quickly walked away from the former star, who was set to be a notable participant in this weekend's All-Star festivities. The NBA, reported the Miami Herald, has "canceled all of Hardaway's assignments this weekend, including an appearance as an 'NBA legend' at the YMCA of Southern Nevada and participation in the NBA's community caravan leading up to Sunday's All-Star game in Las Vegas." Said league commissioner David Stern, "It is inappropriate for him to be representing us given the disparity between his views and ours." You think?

The best response thusfar has come from Amaechi himself. "I don't need Tim's comments to realize there's a problem, he said. "People said that I should just shut up and go away - now they have to rethink that." Added Amaechi, "His words pollute the atmosphere. It creates an atmosphere that allows young gays and lesbians to be harassed in school, creates an atmosphere where in 33 states you can lose your job, and where anti-gay and lesbian issues are used for political gain. It's an atmosphere that hurts all of us, not just gay people." Agreed, and one wonders whether those who have spoken out recently about the negative atmosphere created by "vulgar trash-talking bigots" will step forward and denounce Hardaway. You know, those defenders of the maligned who discuss those who have "paid a price" for making "anti-gay remarks". You know, those repeatedly mention the fight against bigotry in this country. I'm talking to you, Bill Donohue.

One would expect someone like Donohue, who clearly must pride himself as a persecutor of the prejudiced, to come to the defense of Amaechi, right? Perhaps, until one realizes what progressives have long known about Donohue, that the man is not only the worst kind of hypocrite - the "anti-bigotry" bigot - but also that the man is the worst kind of person. Those concerning themselves with protecting the dignity of one group of people, don't you think, shouldn't be saying, about another group, things like "The gay community has yet to apologize to straight people for all the damage that they have done"? Or things like "Name for me a book publishing company in this country, particularly in New York, which would allow you to publish a book which would tell the truth about the gay death style." Or things like "(W)hy didn't you (Mark Foley) just smack the clergyman in the face? After all, most 15-year-old teenage boys wouldn't allow themselves to be molested. So why did you?" Not content to disparage gays, Donohue has also said that people "don't trust Muslims when it comes to liberty" and seems to think it alright to make a "gook joke".

But that's just it; Donohue would never criticize Hardaway because Hardaway, given his comments, is just Donohue with a better jumpshot. And bigots, no matter how much they protest what they deem the prejudice of others, never recognize that the very climate they foster is one that may, at some point, produce rhetoric offensive to their sensibilities. Donohue, like Hardaway, hates gay people, yet Donohue, when greeted with opinions that, while clearly not prejudiced, do run counter to his, acts as though he - not those he regularly disparages - must constantly live in fear and undue scrutiny. Well, reality doesn't work like that. And if you plan on moralizing about perceived bias, you had better damn well make sure there are no bigoted skeletons in your closet. Donohue, the patron saint of hypocrites, has a cemetery's worth in his. Hardaway, meanwhile, has been exposed and ridiculed. One hopes that Donohue, whose words have been equally embarrassing, meets the same fate, because these two teammates-in-hate deserve the same outcome.

is there something missing here?

:applause:

I'm a christo-fascistphobe. I think they are creepy and perverted. I would never want to have one in my locker room. If I am approached by one I get nervous and fear for my life. I will cross the street if I see one coming my way.

There I feel better now!