The big question is how each of us handles the gay issue

We had a feeling when former NBA player John Amaechi came out as a gay man, the story ultimately would not be about him, but about us.

Inevitably, there would be a Tim Hardaway out there willing to pop off and really ignite the discussion.

The truth is, instead of cautious players throwing around code words like "trust," we needed some incendiary comments like those from former NBA point guard Hardaway to ramp up the debate.

There was no deception, no crossover dribble, from the former master of the move when he was asked on Dan LeBatard's radio show what he thought of former Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz center John Amaechi coming out.

"Well, you know, I hate gay people," Hardaway said. "I let it be known I don't like gay people. I don't like to be around gay people. Yeah, I'm homophobic. I don't like it."

Then Hardaway, probably believing he was sounding as diplomatic and patriotic as Dwight Eisenhower, said, "It shouldn't be in the world, or in the United States."

There's nothing like an athlete, or ex-athlete, announcing he or she is gay to bring all of the village idiots out of the closet.

What was Hardaway trying to do? Get a gig on "Grey's Anatomy"?

Congratulations, Timmy, your dopey remarks got yourself banned from the NBA's All-Star Weekend.

But, as much as Hardaway is the villain here, he probably is speaking for most of the players and maybe even a majority of the coaches in the NBA.

And, at least now, maybe we can begin the kind of wide-ranging, visceral talk that needs to be talked.

It's time for all the players to stop using code words and speak from the heart.

The reaction to Hardaway's comments shouldn't be, "You can't say that." It should be, "How can you think that?"

How can NBA players be so ignorant?

How can someone like Philadelphia's Shavlik Randolph, with a Duke pedigree, say he wouldn't mind having a gay teammate, "as long as you don't bring your gayness on me?"

What is that supposed to mean?

At first, I didn't like the trajectory of this story. I thought it was another example of ESPN's synergistic way of doing things. It felt as if Amaechi was being exploited.

Break the story on SportsCenter, push it non-stop on the ESPNews crawler, hype it on "Outside The Lines," write about it on ESPN.com, excerpt the book, "Man In The Middle," in ESPN The Magazine and publish the book through ESPN Books.

But now I believe the longer a light can shine on this story, the better. And nobody in sports has lights as bright and enduring as ESPN.

Let every wrong-headed NBA player, past and present, take their best shots at the issue, so the world can see how bigoted they sound.

Even the Sonics' Ray Allen, whom I consider a smart, reflective man, whose life doesn't entirely revolve around basketball, said he would like to be told if one of his teammates was gay.

"You don't want to know that there is somebody in your locker room and you are not aware of it," Allen was quoted as saying. "And maybe you had to be careful being where you put yourself in a situation where you might get hit on by a teammate."

That is the most loathsome of all the gay stereotypes — that gay people are predatory. The stereotype — that a gay athlete might be hanging around locker rooms and hotel lobbies waiting for the right moment to put a move on a straight teammate — is repulsive.

Is it any wonder gay athletes, especially in team sports, chose to live secretive lives?

We need this debate to continue. Air all sides. Listen to thoughtful remarks like those from Boston coach Doc Rivers in the Boston Herald.

"You look at it and say, 'So what?' " said Rivers, who coached Amaechi in Orlando. "Can he rebound? Can he shoot? Can he defend? ... John Amaechi was a great kid. He did as much charity work as anyone in our city. I wish that is what people would focus on. Instead, we're focusing on sexual orientation, which I could give a flying flip about."

We shouldn't give a flying flip about the sexual orientation of John Amaechi or anyone else. But we do.

Even though I wish he'd made the announcement while he was still playing and really exploded some stereotypes, I applaud Amaechi's courage.

The fact that John Amaechi is gay shouldn't be news.

The real news is how we're dealing with that news.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com.