If he thought it was a joke, it wasn’t funny. Former NBA star Amar’e Stoudemire, now playing in Israel, said this to a reporter to a question about a potential gay teammate.
“I’m going to shower across the street. Make sure my change of clothes are around the corner. And I’m going to drive ... take a different route to the gym.”
Was he joking?
“I mean, there’s always a truth within a joke.”
That is not a joke, it’s homophobic. It’s sad. It’s also the height of arrogance to assume a gay teammate would be interested in someone so narrow-minded and backwards.
Jason Collins played 13 NBA seasons, was about as respected a teammate as you could find in the league, and he came out publicly as a gay man near the end of that run. He tweeted this.
Very sad & troubling to think that @Amareisreal was just given this award. His homophobic comments have no place in sport or in our society. https://t.co/A81sTzItOi
— Jason Collins (@jasoncollins98) March 1, 2017
Former NBA player John Amaechi, who came out after his playing days, was far more direct.
THIS is what I think of Amar'e Stoudemire.#RoleModelFail @espn @LeBatardShow pic.twitter.com/43KuuJ27WL
— John Amaechi OBE (@JohnAmaechi) March 1, 2017
Good on Collins and Amaechi, these kinds of comments need to be met head on, they are simply unacceptable.
