Former NBA player Amar'e Stoudemire is catching some heat, after he was asked whether he'd mind having a gay teammate.
"I'm going to shower across the street, make sure my change of clothes are around the corner and I'm going to drive, take a different route to the gym," Stoudemire, who currently plays in the Israeli Premier League for the team Hapoel Jerusalem, said.Right after, Stoudemire was asked if he was only joking, and he said this:
"There's always a truth within a joke."Other I.P.L. players were asked the same question as the power-forward, but they all said they'd be fine with having a gay teammate.
If Stoudemire does get fined for his comments it wouldn't be the first time. During the 2012 NBA off-season, he was fined $50,000 for tweeting a gay slur to a fan. "Fuck you," he wrote after being criticized. "I don't have to do anything, fag."
He later apologized.
Ex-NBA Player John Amaechi, who is openly gay, slammed Stat's latest statement.
"These are serious times and we need serious people to lead important conversations, not petulant man-children spouting puerile prejudice," Amaechi told TMZ. "In these tumultuous times, these true role models are the men and women whose voices we need to disseminate to every corner, not a braying jackass making a desperate grab for relevance amongst a constituency destined for extinction." "Lastly, could someone please tell this man to stop flattering himself. It’s embarrassing."You can see Stoudemire talk about having a gay teammate below.