Amaechi responds to Hardaway's anti-gay comments

[meegbear]

Former NBA center John Amaechi, who disclosed last week he's gay, said anti-gay comments by another retired player "demonstrate the need to continue the conversation."

Retired Miami Heat guard Tim Hardaway said on a radio show Wednesday that he hates gay people, then later apologized for his remarks.

"I don't need Tim's comments to realize there's a problem," Amaechi told The Associated Press in a phone interview Thursday. "People said that I should just shut up and go away -- now they have to rethink that."

<snip>

"His words pollute the atmosphere," Amaechi said. "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."

<snip>

http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fsportsillustrated.cnn.com%2F2007%2Fbasketball%2Fnba%2F02%2F15%2Fbc.bkn.hardawayremarks.ap%2F%3Fcnn%3Dyes

[xultar]

1. BRAVO to Amaechi...and to Hardaway me thinks he doth protest to much...oh

and he can kiss my black ass.

[trumad]

2. Good for John

I watched him play here in Orlando and he could ball.

[DarkTirade]

3. 33 states... and last time I checked, mine was one of them.

Add onto that the ridiculous number of states, and even countries that have specific ANTI-gay laws on their books. Not just states ignoring the problem... but states BEING the problem.