Trigger Warning: Rape
Former NBA All-Star point man Tim Hardaway Sr. drew widespread flak after spitting an unpleasant comment about rape during the Golden State Warriors home game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Honored by the Warriors to perform a “Run TMC” special local broadcast for the Monday match, Hardaway was on air with Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond – the iconic trio of the franchise in the early 90s.
But early in the third period, Hardaway delivered an insensitive remark following Jakob Poeltl’s shooting foul against Stephen Curry.
“Y’all thought that was great [defense], I thought that was just raping them,” Hardaway quickly noted following the play. “I think you should’ve called the police on that.”
His words became viral and drew criticism on Twitter, which may have influenced him to air his apologies late in the fourth period of the duel for the poor choice of the description in the sequence.
“I used a poor choice of words earlier in the broadcast. I want to apologize for that,” he said. “Let’s get back to the game and let’s finish the game off with a 30-point win and go home happy.”
Though a legend of his own who revolutionized the ball handling field with his killer crossovers, Hardaway Sr. already triggered the majority back in 2007, wherein he famously noted that he hates gays and wanted to be known as homophobic.
“I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic,” Hardaway said as he guested on a Miami radio show. “I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.”
This statement perhaps hammered his basketball hall of fame induction delay for over a decade. Before being enshrined last September, Hardaway Sr. revealed to The San Francisco Chronicle that he already apologized for being homophobic and learned from his mistakes.
“I grew up in a church, and that’s the way churches were – they instilled in you that (homosexuality) wasn’t the way you should be,” Hardaway said via the San Francisco Chronicle. “I was just taught differently. Don’t talk to them, don’t mess with them, leave them alone. I never tried to talk bad about them or do hateful stuff. It was just my upbringing in church. But I’ll tell you this: It was so wrong of me, and people have suffered. I had to grow up and really do some soul-searching. What I said was just hurtful.”
The Warriors went on to win the match over the Spurs in an easy fashion, 132-95, with Jordan Poole catching flame to carve 36 markers. As such, it remains yet to be seen if the Warriors or the NBA will make a move about Hardaway’s improper broadcast.
