Just like Tim Hardaway’s “I hate gay people” years ago opened the door to opportunities, so has Kobe Bryant’s “fucking faggot” slur. GLAAD today has a joint statement with the Los Angeles Lakers and is announcing a cooperation with the NBA to undermine homophobia. Lakers spokesman John Black said:
What happened in Tuesday night's game is not representative of what the Lakers stand for. We want to reaffirm our commitment to all our fans and our appreciation for the support we receive from all segments of society. We also understand the importance of positive messages in helping us convey this. We appreciate the input we've received from GLAAD the past two days and will look forward to working with them on ways to help educate ourselves and our fans, and to help keep language like this out of our game.
Just like Tim Hardaway’s “I hate gay people” years ago opened the door to opportunities, so has Kobe Bryant’s “fucking faggot” slur. GLAAD today has a joint statement with the Los Angeles Lakers and is announcing a cooperation with the NBA to undermine homophobia. Lakers spokesman John Black said:
What happened in Tuesday night's game is not representative of what the Lakers stand for. We want to reaffirm our commitment to all our fans and our appreciation for the support we receive from all segments of society. We also understand the importance of positive messages in helping us convey this. We appreciate the input we've received from GLAAD the past two days and will look forward to working with them on ways to help educate ourselves and our fans, and to help keep language like this out of our game.
This is a strong step in the right direction. And that’s all we can keep pushing for now – Out of lemons you have to make lemonade. You also have to applaud GLAAD. While HRC simply took a phone call and pawned their president off on CNN, GLAAD has been busy doing the work. Good for them.
Also, be sure to check out John Amaechi's column in the New York Times today.
