Kane’s homophobic comments create stir on Twitter

Everyone on the Twittersphere has offered some form of “analysis” for the 2013 NBA Playoffs, including Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane.

His analysis, however, was a bit more on the abrasive side of things.

“Chris bosh looked like a fairy going to the rim,” he said. The tweet has since been deleted.

And, in case that wasn’t bad enough, he defended himself later:

Homophobia is unfortunately rather prevalent in sports, and it’s always been that way. Huge strides are being made, thanks in part to the work of Patrick Burke and the You Can Play project. Professional athletes, including Jason Collins of the NBA, Robbie Rogers of the MLS and Megan Rapinoe of the US women’s national soccer team have bravely paved the way for young athletes to be comfortable with themselves.

But when someone like Kane openly makes — and defends — comments like this, or when Roy Hibbert says “no homo” during a press conference, it’s a huge step back. Athletes are some of the most idolized people in the world. When they openly promote homophobia, it says that it’s okay for things like this to happen. News flash: it’s not okay. It’s like what our parents told us growing up: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.

According to Kane’s Twitter account, Burke has been in contact with Kane and they’re working together to make sure Mr. Kane does not make the same mistake again.

Chris BoshEvander KanePatrick BurkeWinnipeg JetsYou Can Play Project