Former NBA star Tim Hardaway is letting go of his hate. In a big way.
Hardaway is scheduled to be the first person to sign a petition launched by Equal Marriage Florida to put a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing same-sex marriage in the state on the November 2014 ballot, according to postonpolitics.com.
The move is noteworthy on its own merits but takes on greater significance when considering Hardaway's past.
USA Today printed Hardaway's comments during a 2007 interview with a Miami radio station, in which he said:
"I hate gay people, so let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. It should not be in the world or in the United States."
The 13-year NBA veteran, who played from the 1989-90 season to the 2002-03 season, was banned immediately from attending many league-sanctioned events. He also faced a backlash from family and friends.
It was a rude awakening for the five-time all-star who averaged 17.7 points per game during his career and had his number retired by the Miami Heat, one of his four NBA stops. Hardaway also averaged more than 20 points per game in four of his first five years with Golden State before being traded to Miami.
"I opened my eyes and went to counseling," Hardaway told the El Paso Times in 2011. Hardaway played college basketball at the University of Texas-El Paso.
According to USA Today, Hardaway has since been an active participant in the gay-rights movement, becoming involved in with the Trevor Project and offering support to Jason Collins after he became the first active NBA player to come out in April.
Hardaway's son, Tim Hardaway Jr., was a first-round draft selection of the New York Knicks last week.
The Equal Marriage Florida petition requires more than 680,000 signatures from registered voters to have a chance to get on the ballot, postonpoltics.com reports.
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