Tim Hardaway was was a five-time NBA All-Star, and finished eighth all-time in average assists per game. And yet now when most people think of the former Miami Heat player, what first springs to mind are his February 2007 "I hate gay people" comments.

His virulently homophobic rant occurred on a radio show. The interviewer brought up the recent coming out of John Amaechi and asked Hardaway how he would deal with a gay teammate.

"Well, you know I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it."

Who knows what he was expecting, but it is clear that Hardaway did pay a price for what he'd done. The NBA moved to distance itself from Hardaway, and Hardaway's employer Trinity Sports fired him.

Now comes news that maybe Hardaway is earnestly repentant about his hateful comments. He's been quietly showing up at the YES Institute, a children's advocacy group based in South Miami. The organization's mission statement:

"To prevent suicide and ensure the healthy development of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and all youth by initiating dialogue, providing education, and creating support systems."

One wonders if Hardaway's motives for developing a relationship with YES are entirely altruistic. (He was trying to launch a coaching career and his ugly homophobic ranting and seeming lack of contrition made him a less-than-desirable coaching candidate.) But the YES Institute does very good work and Hardaway's involvement helps to draw attention to the issue of LGBT teen depression and suicide.

And if all this is is just a PR move, it's a very smart one. The man deserves points for that. He's saying all the right things. When asked by AP why he began attending YES Institute discussion groups...

"I just wanted to go in and get educated, that's all. Get educated on what I said and why I said those things. I'm working on understanding it now. I'm not really trying to make amends. I've been there trying to get help."

Will this be enough to resurrect his tarnished image? What do AfterElton.com readers think?

I was at the Human Rights Campaign's annual awards dinner and gala in San Francisco Saturday night, where George Takei received HRC's Equality Award, Elizabeth Edwards gave the keynote address, and the always-gorgeous Lucy Lawless gave us three wardrobe changes and a whole lotta love for her gay fans. And I’m here to tell you it's official: Mr. Sulu loves him some Xena.

“Isn’t she fabulous?” he said of Lawless, who swished over in a low cut black gown. “I’ve never met her before.”

At the reception before the awards dinner, I told Takei I’d been a huge fan of the original Star Trek series, but had always felt excluded from the show’s Utopian vision, where queers like me – and him – were invisible.

“Well, Star Trek had as its core value what we call IDIC, Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations,” he said. “And (Trek producer and creator) Gene Roddenberry always told us the diversity of the Starship Enterprise was where its strength was. There’s a diversity that we can see: the color of one’s skin, or the shape of one’s eyes. There’s the accent of a person, diversity we can hear. But there’s another diversity that we can’t see oftentimes, but that too is a part of the strength of America.”

As they say in Hollywood, that's a wrap! But before we sign off for the weekend, we'd like to leave you with a few final tidbits!

• Is Brady Quinn going to need a restraining order against our friend Kenneth Walsh?
  
• Check out Pandora.com! It's the coolest radio station ever because you build it!
• Rescue Me's ratings drop almost 20%. Did our article cause it? (No, but I can wish!)
• Miami Herald journalist Steve Rothaus has been out since 1987 and can tell you all you need to know about Gay South Florida.
  
• Are homophobe Tim Hardaway and homophobic island-nation Jamaica a match made in heaven? Well, at least he's doing something positive this time.



• Looks like the Brits might get to see some same-sex loving on their version of Big Brother.
• If you haven't already read it, our own Steven Frank is recapping Top Chef. Do yourself a favor and read it now. I said now, damnit!
• And don't forget this week's BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER! Every time someone reads it, a Flying Monkey gets his wings!

Just in case you were under the impression that Tim Hardaway, the NBA vet who famously said "I hate gay people ... I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States" had either miraculously become a tolerant individual or had been sent into orbit, here's a story about how the boastful bigot recently attended an NBA pre-draft event.

The reporter is quick to point out that Hardaway was listed as only a "Guest" and that no one seems to be forgetting Hardaway's words or his notable lack of an apology following the controversy. But it is interesting to see that he's trying to make inroads back into the organization that banished him from sanctioned events following his comments, and that the NBA allowed him access at all.

When asked at the event about his comments from four months back, the ever-keen Hardaway replied,

"It was just a comment, that's what it was to me. It's over with. I don't think about it ... Let bygones be bygones. A lot of people are putting their foot in their mouths."

Translation:

"I said hateful things about an entire population, and I still hate them. And although it surely must affect them to be insulted in such an offhand manner, it doesn't affect me in the least. In fact, once words leave my mouth they cease to exist. Just watch -- there! See? Now let's forget any of this ever happened. Please give me a job."

Apologizing for hateful comments and resuming one's life is one thing. Not apologizing and trying to pretend that nothing ever happened is another, and let's hope that Hardaway's old colleagues don't let him off so easy.

To remind us that even the stupidest of public relations moves can have unexpectedly amusing fallout, check out George Takei's response to the Hardaway deal (aired on Jimmy Kimmel) after the break.

If you haven't yet had the chance, make sure to pop on over to our Brand! Spanking! New! main page and read our article discussing the recent gay controversies in pro sports. With the Tim Hardaway situation, the Snickers Super Bowl ad, and the Colts coach's appearance at a dinner for an avowedly anti-gay group, pro sports have had a rough inning, to say the least. But is it just a fumble?

Check out the article, and be sure to share your comments when you're done (you can now comment on the actual article page -- a new feature!). And if anyone in or near Indianapolis hears anything about how the dinner went or how the local coverage plays out shoot us an email at editor@afterelton.com.