Tim Hardaway
元 NBAプレイヤーでゲイであることをカミングアウトした John Amaechi。プレイヤーとしてはまったく記憶にありません。ただプロスポーツのプレイヤーでゲイであることを公にするプレイヤーはほとんどいないので、彼のカミングアウトは大きなニュースになりました。このニュースへのラジオでのコメントで、これまた元 NBAプレイヤーの Tim Hardawayがコメントしました。これは 1-2週間位前だったかな？ 彼の発言の要旨としては「俺はゲイは嫌い」「チームメートとしてゲイがいることは耐えられない」「ロッカールームを共用するのも嫌」みたいなもの。発言後、発言に関してすまんかった、みたいな発言はしていましたが、最初の発言があまりにもストレートで誤解されたとかそういったレベルではないので、もうこれはなかったことにはできないでしょう。最近の火消し作業の発言がこれ。
"I don't hate gay people," Hardaway said. "I'm a good-hearted person. I interact with people all the time. ... I respect people. For me to say 'hate' was a bad word, and I didn't mean to use it."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/02/18/bc.bkn.hardawayremarks.ap/index.html
最初の発言が以下の通り
"You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people,'' he said while a guest on Sports Talk 790 The Ticket. "I'm homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.''
"First of all, I wouldn't want him on my team. And second of all, if he was on my team, I would, you know, 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.''
"Something has to give,'' Hardaway said. "If you have 12 other ballplayers in your locker room that's upset and can't concentrate and always worried about him in the locker room or on the court or whatever, it's going to be hard for your teammates to win and accept him as a teammate.''
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/wires/02/15/2030.ap.bkn.hardaway.remarks.3rd.ld.writethru.0415/index.html
Amaechiの反応は
"I'm actually tempted to laugh,'' Amaechi told The Miami Herald. "Finally, someone who is honest. It is ridiculous, absurd, petty, bigoted and shows a lack of empathy that is gargantuan and unfathomable. But it is honest. And it illustrates the problem better than any of the fuzzy language other people have used so far.''
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/wires/02/15/2030.ap.bkn.hardaway.remarks.3rd.ld.writethru.0415/index.html
ま、ゲイへの理解が足りないことへの無知がひとつ*1、、そして仮にゲイを忌み嫌っていたとしてもそれをラジオでオープンにしゃべってしまうことへの軽率さの二つですな、まずいのは。
