Over the weekend, an Imgur user named “jewishdoggy” posted a bunch of old tweets from NBA players that they probably wish they’d never tweeted and/or have since taken down due to their vulgar and offensive nature. One of those players happened to be Portland Trail Blazers swingman Al-Farouq Aminu, who posted several homophobic tweets to his feed dating back to 2010. Have a look:
https://twitter.com/farouq1/status/8893211557?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/farouq1/status/7532553666?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/farouq1/status/12809457563?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/farouq1/status/134396040525778945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/farouq1/status/10502774352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
It must be quite a #culture shock for Aminu to be suddenly living in a city like Portland, having signed a relatively long-term contract in the offseason that’ll ostensibly keep him in town for the foreseeable future. It’ll be equally interesting to see what sort of reception he gets from local fans after this inevitably starts making the rounds.
What’s unclear is whether the league (or his organization) will feel compelled to hand down any sort of disciplinary action, given that some of the tweets are going on six years old. Still, the NBA over the past several years has admirably pledged full support for equal rights and inclusiveness for the LGBTQ community and shown little tolerance when players have crossed that line.
Most recently, many around the NBA, including commissioner Adam Silver, have categorically denounced North Carolina’s so-called bathroom law, which would discriminate against trans people. There’s been widespread call for the league to move the 2017 All-Star game – which was scheduled to be held in Charlotte next February – in protest against the controversial piece of legislation.
Aminu’s tweets, regardless of how old, are inexcusable. They don’t represent the NBA, and they certainly don’t represent the Blazers’ organization or its fan base. That’s something that should be made abundantly clear, one way or another.
(h/t Blazer’s Edge)
