Los Angeles Lakes head coach Phil Jackson is in hot water after making a homophobic and crude reference, in a failed joke, to homosexuals. After Jackson’s remark, and other remarks by the likes of Tim Hardaway, it becomes increasingly clear that the NBA needs to address its homophobic culture.
The Lakers had just come off a loss to the Spurs that featured 13 three-pointers by the Spurs and many layups and dunks.
When asked about all of the penetration throughout the game, Jackson responded, “We call this the ‘Brokeback Mountain’ because there’s so much penetration.” Unsurprisingly, the failed joke received some laughs and a large amount of criticism.
Jackson admitted the next day that the joke was in poor taste, but the damage to his credibility, along with the NBA’s, had already been done.
The NBA strongly criticized Jackson for his comments, but are just words and light punishment going far enough? The answer is clearly no, considering that homophobia is a part of the NBA culture.
If you are skeptical that the NBA players and coaches are homophobic, then think about the number of openly gay players there are in the NBA. That’s right, there aren’t any.
That does not mean that there are no gay players in the NBA, but that they are too afraid or self-loathing to admit their sexuality.
When former player John Amaechi came out, the homophobia throughout the league came to the surface. Former NBA point guard Tim Hardaway went as far to say that he would ask to be traded off a team with a gay player.
Of course Hardaway, like Jackson, apologized for the remarks, but his gut reaction is telling. Hardaway had an irrational fear of gay men and went as far to say he “hates” them.
Amaechi still stands as the only NBA player on record to ever publicly acknowledge being a homosexual. Odds are that more than one of the NBA’s over 4,000 historical players has been ga.
Hardaway and Jackson do not stand for the entire NBA, but they probably represent at least some of the NBA’s players and coaches.
The NBA is by far the most racially and ethnically diverse American sport. It is time they acknowledge that while they have made significant progress in these areas over the past 50 years, they have failed to promote any tolerance of the gay community.
Overall, the NBA has avoided major controversies like the steroid problem in baseball. If they want to avoid a brewing controversy of their own, they should address the homophobia problem within their league among players and coaches alike.