Retired Heat guard Tim Hardaway, asked on a Miami radio show how he would deal with a gay teammate in light of last week's disclosure by retired NBA center John Amaechi that he is gay, said he "hates gay people."
"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known," Hardaway said. "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 went on to tell host Dan Le Batard, a Miami Herald columnist: "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. 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."
Asked what he would do if he had a gay teammate, Hardaway said he would ask for the player to be traded or to be bought out of his contract.
"Something has to give," Hardaway said. "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."
Hardaway is the first NBA player - current or former - to make anti-gay statements since Amaechi's news came out.
