Amar’e Stoudemire announces to world that gay people make him uncomfortable

Whether it’s a beloved Arizona sportswriter or a homosexual teammate in the locker room, former Phoenix Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire has the same message. Cash me outside.

Wednesday morning Sports Illustrated published a story detailing Stoudemire’s comments to Israeli website Walla Sport when asked about having a gay teammate.

"I'm going to shower across the street, make sure my change of clothes are around the corner," Stoudemire said. "And I'm going to drive -- take a different route to the gym."

HE’S GOING TO DRIVE A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO THE GYM AND GET DRESSED IN AN ALLEY. Because you can’t take the gay route to work. Might end up gay yourself.

Stoudemire’s comments are stunning, it takes real effort to come off as that foolish. The foolishness is multiplied exponentially when you consider that we have been provided a textbook on how NOT to handle these questions.

Just like the parachute that Dan Le Batard provided to Tim Hardaway at end of that interview, Stoudemire was also provided an escape. He was asked if his comments were a joke. His response:

"I mean, there's always a truth within a joke."

Unbelievable. UNBELIEVABLE. But if you’re a fan of the Phoenix Suns, you know STAT is making a solid second career out of saying stupid things. In February of last year, he looked to pick a fight with former Suns beat writer Paul Coro. I can’t drop the tweets in here because Stoudemire has a strong deletion game.

As is often the case in these circumstances the veteran of 14 NBA seasons later apologized, calling himself a "huge supporter of civil rights for all people."

Smarten up, STAT.