Back in 2007, NBA point guard Tim Hardaway told a radio host that he hated gay people and even proudly declared himself “homophobic.” By 2013 the now retired player had transformed himself from homophobe to advocate for LGBT youth.
Hardaway is a Hall of Fame finalist this year, for the fifth time.
He told Hoops Hype that the reason he’s not getting in is because of what he said in 2007.
Said Hardaway: “I hurt a lot of people’s feelings and it came off the wrong way and it was really bad of me to say that. Since then, I’ve turned a wrong into a right. My parents used to always tell me, ‘If you do something wrong, look it in the eye. Don’t back down from it and be scared of it. Go make it right and make people understand that you made a mistake.’ And that’s what I did.”
“Life is too short to be out here hating one another and trying to hurt one another,” he added. “I understand that. But, yeah, that’s the only reason why I’m not in [the Hall of Fame] and I understand that. There’s nothing I can do about it. You got to take your bumps and bruises, and that’s what I’ve been doing. I just try to be positive. It hurts. But, hey, I understand the ramifications of [what I said]. I understand why I’m not in. All I can do is keep living. My parents also always told me, “You can’t control what you can’t control.”
Read the full interview here.
That 2007 interview:
