A post by imgur user JewishDoggy has revealed a history of tweets by Portland Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu involving questionable and disturbing statements about homosexuality.
The imgur page is titled, "Here's another collection of old tweets from NBA players". Aminu's tweets are part of a larger collection of thoughts by NBA players. Many of the submissions tread the boundaries of good taste; Aminu's cross into different territory.
None of Aminu's tweets involving LGBTQ topics are more recent than 2011. Several remain live on his official account. Here are some of the more egregious, directly embedded followed by screen shots, assuming they'll be deleted at some point.
If you got a gay roommate #shooturself ... bang bang I hit the ground bang bang
— Al-Farouq Aminu (@farouq1) February 10, 2010
#culture is a female trait I guess ... another word for gay ...
— Al-Farouq Aminu (@farouq1) January 8, 2010
You know ATL has to many gays when they have Gay hotlines. #justsaying
— Al-Farouq Aminu (@farouq1) April 25, 2010
Guy has a stroke and becomes gay. Wow
— Al-Farouq Aminu (@farouq1) November 9, 2011
#IWonderHow u can be gay and a virgin
— Al-Farouq Aminu (@farouq1) March 15, 2010
Disparaging comments involving homosexuality are not unusual in the world of professional athletics. Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 by the NBA in April of 2011 for using a slur towards an NBA referee. Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless was also cited on the imgur page for posting the same anti-gay slur for which Bryant was fined. Several uses remain extant in his twitter feed, ranging from October, 2009 to July, 2011. Aminu's tweets cannot be condoned. At the same time they reflect a larger context, not just personal intent.
The NBA has made public steps to bring awareness to this topic and paint itself as an inclusive organization. Two weeks ago the league spoke out against a controversial North Carolina law limiting anti-discrimination protection for LGBTQ-identified people.