Anthony Edwards in recent days got into a controversy for posting a story on Instagram in which he explicitly insulted apparently homosexual boys stopped talking on the street. The young Minnesota Timberwolves star filmed the scene on his cell phone and uttered the words: “Look at those queer ass niggas. [non traducibile, ndr]. What has this world become…”.
Anthony Edwards is wild for this man 😠pic.twitter.com/ccSkkDfe1E
– HaterMuse (@HaterMuse) September 11, 2022
Words that immediately aroused such outrage that Edwards immediately apologized on Twitter: “What I said was immature, offensive and disrespectful, I am incredibly sorry. It is unacceptable for me or any other person to use such offernsive language, there is no excuse. I was raised better than that!”.
What I said was immature, hurtful, and disrespectful, and I’m incredibly sorry. It’s unacceptable for me or anyone to use that language in such a hurtful way, there’s no excuse for it, at all. I was raised better than that!
– Anthony Edwards (@theantedwards_) September 11, 2022
Despite the apology however Edwards’ homophobic comments are continuing to cause talk. The following has spoken on the issue Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NBA legend always very attentive and vocal when it comes to human rights.
It would be easy to let Edwards’ immaturity pass, after all, he is only 21 years old. Were it not for the fact that I have seen so many instances of famous athletes and NBA owners using racist, misogynistic and homophonic expressions. This harms sports in general and not just their specific team; it revives the old stereotype of the stupid, bully athlete. More importantly, it perpetuates prejudice against a group of people. And prejudice often leads to fewer rights and violence. I don’t think an apology, even a heartfelt one, is enough. Edwards needs to repair the damage he has caused by volunteering in LGBTQ+ organizations, particularly in younger groups, to show his support. If he cannot do this to repair the pain he has caused, his apology will be meaningless.
