Kathlyn Hotynski

As homosexuality takes on a stronger national presence in modern American society, so do its vocal opponents. Yet no matter how hard people work to silence the homosexual voice, gays and lesbians continue to come out of the closet and prove that no matter how loud people piss and moan about them, they’re not going to give up on living a happy life.

Gays and lesbians are the most persecuted minority in society today but the acceptance and tolerance of homosexuality will eventually improve as people realize gays have an equal chance at life success as heterosexuals.

However, the world of professional sports is the one realm of society that stands no chance of change in the near future.

From kindergarten to the professional ranks, sports have become the pinnacle of masculinity in America. How many fathers do you know that push for their sons to join the cheerleading squad or become interior decorators? Those are two good examples of stereotypical gay hobbies or professions, but nowadays the line separating gay and straight has almost been erased completely.

Straight men enjoy matching clothes and gay men enjoy playing sports. The problem is that those gay men engaging in stereotypical “straight” hobbies continue to live a lie by disguising their sexual orientation from fear of severe alienation by their ignorant peers.

The most recent example of idiotic bigotry towards homosexuality in sports is to look at the reaction of ex-NBA player Tim Hardaway to the coming out of another ex-player, John Amaechi.

Amaechi became the first NBA player, active or inactive, to announce he was gay, and in turn received the amount of press usually reserved for an All-Star like Kevin Garnett instead of a lower caliber player, such as himself.

Obviously Amaechi deserves some attention because of his courageous admission in the wake of a career that could just as easily be pushed into the back of a closet. But because he wasn’t a recognizable face to fans of the NBA, the attention seems to be over-hyped. Yes, it is a big deal, but Amaechi was never an All-Star caliber player and his coming out will not result in a much needed change in anti-gay attitudes around the NBA and other professional sports organizations around the country.

The best thing that could come out of Amaechi’s confession was Hardaway’s Neanderthal response on a Miami radio talk show.

According to an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the five-time All-Star made his hatred of gays common knowledge in the sports world.

“I let it be known, I don’t like gay people. I don’t like to be around gay people,” Hardaway said on the radio show. “Yeah, I’m homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States for that matter.”

Apparently, Hardaway’s ass was doing most of the talking during that interview.

If there was a better poster boy for league-wide sentiments towards homosexuality, he’s most likely learned from Hardaway’s bone-headed mistake.

Of course, Hardaway apologized in a statement, saying he didn’t hate gay people and regretted everything that was said. And in typical, go-through-the-motions athlete fashion, his apology sounded like he was a pouting five-year-old who hit his sister because he was jealous of the attention she was receiving.

Hardaway’s apology was blatantly fake because, unlike most celebrities that say racist things, he failed to say he would look into sensitivity training or changing his misconceptions.

The NBA did the right thing in severing nearly all ties with the former guard because of his bigoted remarks, but the comments run deeper than the depths of Hardaway’s individual perspective.

The fact that Hardaway had the guts to speak his mind to the media demonstrated the reason why many homosexuals in Amaechi’s position choose to play out their careers in silence. NBA players, along with many other professional athletes in popular leagues such as the NFL and MLB, carry Hardaway-like resentments towards homosexuals. Ironically, as Amaechi points out in his personal biography, the locker room is filled with “gay” activities, such as swapping expensive clothes, flexing muscles to each other and showing off jewelry.

Amaechi’s first step out of the closet deserves respect, but it is being vastly over-hyped. The only way these bigoted sentiments against gays in sports will change is if a current or former All-Star who has won respect from the rest of the league, opens up about his or her homosexuality.

Until that day, a dark shadow of hate will stay cast over professional sports and will continue to force gay athletes to live in fear.

McCormick is a sophomore print journalism major and editorial editor of The Spectator. McCormick’s Musings appears every Thursday.