"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."

When I heard this comment that Tim Hardaway made about John Amaechi today I could and couldn't believe it. You feel that we are becoming a forward thinking society that has a little more social consciousness about themselves. Then again, this is a slow process. While many African Americans are finally being treated equally, there are still many people that live in a time within themselves that can't tolerate something of that nature. While I understand one represents a people as a whole and another represents sexuality, regardless, they represent stereotypes and hate. Homosexuals within sports are thrown within a very damning atmosphere themselves.

Playing sports, you see a very macho community. It is full of testosterone and stories like Wilt's sleeping with 20,000 women is a perfect example of this. I can see why John would feel like an outcast even among friends. People don't need to fully agree with his lifestyle on a religious or moral level, but they should be able to understand that he is simply a teammate and not some sexual maniac that lusts for every man that walks. Hopefully this will put an idea out there that many athletes have either known about or thought about and open up some discussion. People also need to recognize that all athletes aren't like Tim and have a more open mind as well.