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Is Brendan Haywood Really Worried About Starbury’s Sexuality or Something Else?

Aug 17, 2009, 5:35 PM UTC

Theâ†µweirdest part about all those Brendan Haywood/Etan Thomas feuds in theâ†µWashington locker room? While Thomas’s outspokenness is well, if notâ†µover, documented, Haywood too is not afraid to speak his mind aboutâ†µissues around the league. With Etan exiled to OKC, Brendan’s left toâ†µpick the slack.â†µ
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â†µAnd boy, has he ever. Speaking to Hardcore Sports Radio (transcribed by Sports Radio Interviews), Haywood just let it all loose on the subject of Marbury’s you-know-what and the Twitter craze:â†µâ†µâ‡¥“At first it was cool, but after a while it just became disturbing. He’s on YouTube crying with no shirt on for no reason,â†µâ‡¥sweating while his boy’s rubbing his shoulders. What’s that about?â†µâ‡¥That’s like gay porn. I don’t understand it. He’s dancing to a songâ†µâ‡¥called ‘Barbie Doll’, doing like stripper moves. I have no idea what’sâ†µâ‡¥going on with the guy, it’s almost like he’s trying to end his ownâ†µâ‡¥career. There’s not a GM out there that would touch Marbury right now…â†µâ‡¥Have you seen the ‘Barbie Doll’ clip? Click on YouTube and go to Barbieâ†µâ‡¥Doll. There’s no way any other professional athletes would wanna getâ†µâ‡¥dressed around this guy, because you gotta think something is a little,â†µâ‡¥he’s swinging from both sides of the fence.”â†µâ†µThe key progression there? “At first it was cool . . .â†µafter a while it just became disturbing . . . he’s swinging from bothâ†µsides of the fence.” So Haywood is for absolute transparency, until theâ†µguy starts showing off the deepest recesses of his soul, and onceâ†µthat’s crossed, it’s time to retreat to old jock standbys likeâ†µhomophobia. Or at least hurtful stereotypes, and the “no team wants aâ†µgay in the locker room” sleeping giant. It’s like Haywood likes theâ†µidea in principle, just not when someone like Marbury actually ends upâ†µhaving some real weirdness to show off.â†µ
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Andâ†µherein might lie the fundamental Twitter/new media paradox forâ†µathletes. Be yourself, but not the part we won’t approve of, or anyâ†µpart we don’t expect. Elsewhere in the interview, Haywood turns hisâ†µnose up at Kevin Love’s Twitter-tale-ing. Like dude, what are youâ†µdoing? Play your position and stop acting like some kind of crusaderâ†µfor the free flow of information or enhanced access to the NBAâ†µexperience. That’s a lot deeper than this is supposed to go!â†µ
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â†µNot that I think Haywood’s really mature comments on Marbury tellâ†µus anything about Steph’s sexuality (sidenote: wasn’t Dennis Rodman admittedly biâ†µwhen he was winning rings?). But if someone were to be outted by name,â†µor blind item-ed, couldn’t it come from a spiteful or frightenedâ†µteammate? Twitter does have the potential to, however intermittently,â†µturn into a source of prime NBA gossip. Or at least, for Haywood,â†µlooking at what’s happened to Marbury, why wouldn’t these fears beâ†µbrewing? That Haywood’s more worried about others’ sexuality than hisâ†µown doesn’t mask the fact that this level of exposure loosens the reinsâ†µof control in a way that might scare some players.â†µ
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â†µWhat if an unhinged Marbury starts dishing dirt on others? What ifâ†µhe outs someone? What if someone had blithely outted the “gay” (or justâ†µplain nuts) Marbury before this? For all the eagerness NBA stars haveâ†µshown to share themselves with the world—perhaps to correct the thugâ†µstereotypes and post-Jordan blandness that have both worked to make theâ†µleague interesting—there’s a hell of a lot going on that’s yet to getâ†µout. But it could, if there’s not someone helping these guys manageâ†µtheir message. That, and not confusion over Marbury’s supposedly “gay”â†µbehavior, might be the anxiety at the root of Haywood’s rant.
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