“Well, 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. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States. So yeah, I don’t like it.”

That was Tim Hardaway four years ago, in an interview with Miami’s 790 The Ticket, talking about John Amaechi coming out of the closet. He kind of apologized the next day. “I shouldn’t have said that I hate gay people or anything like that,” he said. “I should have just said I don’t condone him being in the locker room.” He probably shouldn’t have said anything. Hardaway was my favorite player growing up, and hearing him speak out against basic human rights for basic human people made my stomach hurt. I owned a Dream Team and a Golden State Warriors jersey with Hardaway’s number, and that’s not an easy thing for a kid to do in Virginia in the 90s. Here I am stuck telling people I loved Jud Buechler. Jud Buechler.

Four years later I’m proud to say my stomach is feeling better. Hardaway could’ve moved on with his life and done one of those “that’s just who I am, I don’t condone it” acts, but he’s done us one better. He’s not only okay with gay people being in the United States, he wants them to have what most folks in the United States take for granted. He showed up in El Paso, Texas this week to support to a group of politicians who are trying to be recalled by a religious group for their stance on gay rights.

From the El Paso Times, by way of Ball Don’t Lie:

In town for a golf outing, Hardaway attended a press conference urging citizens to oppose recall efforts against Mayor John Cook and city Reps. Susie Byrd and Steve Ortega. The three are being recalled by a group of religious conservatives who are angry the three voted to restore health benefits for gay and unmarried partners of city employees — despite a ballot initiative in November that had abolished them.

That’s about as apolitical as the gay rights discussion gets. Do you want these people to be taken care of when they get sick, yes/no? Hardaway wants to the people who are angry to come to the same conclusions he did between now and so very, very long ago.

“I would say grow up and catch up with the times,” he said. “It’s all around the world.”

The two comments posted on Ball Don’t Lie about this story sum it up nicely. The first, “Sometimes what you think is right is just wrong. Takes a real man to admit that. Good for Hardaway.” The second, “sell-out stand by your rules if it aint right it aint right”. I hope one of those makes more sense to you than the other. For those of you who can’t tell the difference, you can’t be my friend. And here I am having to be friends with Jud Buechler.

Sports

Cop: The 1990-1991 Golden State Warriors T-Shirt - I mention it fairly frequently, but Tim Hardaway was my favorite basketball player when I was younger, so it’s going to take me another ten years or so to come to terms with his real life personality. This shirt is pretty cool, though, and takes me back to the days when I could shut people out at NBA Jam. [Smoking Section]

Why are Mexican Soccer Fans Boorish Animals? - In case you missed it yesterday (or skipped over it because it had “soccer” in the title), don’t miss Matt Ufford’s piece about what happens when urine bombs explode on the wrong patch of soil. In this example, “wrong patch of soil” means “any soil”. [With Leather]

Testosterone Replacement Therapy? - I’m pretty happy that I’ve gotten this far into life without learning about testosterone replacement therapy. Fighter Nate Marquardt underwent it, then immediately finished all of Brucie’s missions in Grand Theft Auto 4. [Cage Potato]

ACW Queen of Queens Review - My take was a little facetious and personal, so if you’re interested in finding out what actually happened at this weekend’s awesome Texas pro wrestling tournament, check out John Hyperion’s review at Dirty Dirty Sheets. I really need to hang out with him more, he could probably get me that mark photo with Portia Perez my life desperately needs. [Dirty Dirty Sheets]

Not Sports

T-Mobile Girl on “Powers”, Immediately Killed Off - There are few things in this world I love more than brunette Canadian actresses with mouths too big for their heads. It’s the one thing I have in common with Don Draper. [Gamma Squad]

The Official Mission Impossible 4 Trailer - Last night I went to see Cars 2, and it isn’t as bad as people are saying, but it does seem like an 8-minute short stretched out to two hours and is a complete waste of time. All I could think while watching it was “Where the hell is Pete Docter, or Andrew Stanton? Or Brad Bird?” Well, Brad Bird is here, making things explode behind Tom Cruise. [Film Drunk]

Michael Jackson Never Sang On The Simpsons - I’m totally okay with this revelation, because that episode of the Simpsons is terrible to me and I have to stop when they start singing to Lisa out of second-hand embarrassment. [Warming Glow]

The Best of My Little Pony YouTube Mash-ups - Remember when cartoons looked like they were drawn by people in an effort to sell you toys? Now they look like they were made on Newgrounds to sell you tank tops at Hot Topic. This is worth your click due because Wu Tang. [Uproxx]

You know who was fantastic? Jack Nicklaus. I’m not talking about being good at golf, he was just awesome. He got to exist in a time when adult men could be famous for their trade and look and dress and act like a reserve astronaut at all times. Look at the people around him. Do you see any 34 year old bloggers wearing suits that don’t fit, scribbling into little notepads with a smirk on their face about the funny headline they’re gonna write the next day? Nope. Just a bunch of 70-f**king year old men, smiling and laughing about the golf. And his nickname was “The Golden Bear.” Yeah, Jack Nicklaus was fantastic.

Who do we have like Jack Nicklaus now? Ben Crane? He puts funny videos on the Internet. Tiger Woods sends sexts about needing you right now. If Jack Nicklaus could text, he’d do it with his entire fist, and that is not a rerun Chuck Norris joke, that is historic sports fact.

Sports

The Best Nicknames in Sports - The reason for the opening blurb. Travel back in time to that wonderful, bygone era when pictures could be cool without nipple slips or funny faces. “The Golden Bear” is still the best, but “Puddin’ Head” is pretty close. And “Crazy Legs.” I would do anything for my peers to call me “Crazy Legs.” [Life]

Top 5 Signature Go-To Moves in the NBA - This is a great list, even if it reminds me of how much I used to love Tim Hardaway and the UTEP 2 Step. Basketball was awesome when you could just pick up the ball and run around with it. Then Tim Hardaway had to open his mouth, and I stopped liking basketball so much. [Hoop Doctors]

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Lots of folks seem to be having a grand time with Tim Hardaway's straightforward and unashamed homophobia. We are the Postmen, for instance, shares a funny anecdote about scorned valets sending Hardaway to a gay club in Orlando.

But the bigger tip of the cap goes to Sports by Brooks, which dug up an Outsports column from 2001 that ranked Hardaway as #7 on its list of NBA players most likely to be gay:

Not too different from the bruthas one might run into at any black gay club on a Saturday night. Opposite of Dale Davis ["too tough to be real"]. Not really trying to be tough. Just himself.

Oh man. This isn't going to be like American Beauty, is it? Where the homophobic guy is actually gay, and the straight guy played by the gay guy who the closeted guy thinks is gay gets killed because he wasn't gay and then a bag flew around in the air? Because this could get too confusing for me real quick.

Unless, you know, we get to see Thora Birch's globe collection. Then I'll pay attention.

The absolute best part is LeBatard's attempt to let Hardaway back down. "Uh, Timmy, you know what you're saying is flatly homophobic? It's bigotry." And Hardaway's like, "No, no. You heard that right. I hate gay people." Awesome.

Of course, the liberal media is all over Hardaway for his "bigotry," but no one is praising his honesty. Or restraint, for that matter. Because let me hit you up with some ka-nowledge about "teh gay0rz" (as they're called on the Internet). Fact: Gay men are attracted to men. Fact: It's contagious. Fact: Gross, right? What's their problem, anyway? Titties are awesome.