I try hard to convince myself that I believe in redemption, that I believe in forgiveness, that the whole business of it isn't just a self-serving racket. About half the time I can convince myself of the necessity of it all. The other half I just can't.
Part of it is that redemption/change arcs just tend to seem awfully opportunistic. I'm sure Bridges regrets what is probably a couple of hundred millions he missed out on, but I also know he definitely doesn't want to miss out on the 8 million he's due to make now that he's "reinstated" or whatever.
If I am to believe a redemption narrative, then I need to see tangible things. It's been 15+ years and I'm willing to believe when Tim Hardaway says he's changed because of the work he seems to have put in. One thing I really appreciate is that he's always willing to talk about it. Even around the time he was inducted in the HoF, he would answer all and any questions in interviews about his homophobic remarks, the fallout, the journey it took him on. It's also worth pointing out that his counselling and his work with LGBTQ organizations did not take two months. It took years for him to get to a place opposite of where he was in 2007.
Miles Bridges was apparently redeemed in a year. I'm sure Morant will be redeemed by the end of this year. Forgive me for being just a little bit skeptical here. Bridges and Morant are public figures and they've chosen to be such. I don't think it's horribly unfair that I ask for some of this redemption process to also be public, especially since the point of it all is that they'd like to remain public figures. If Bridges decided that he was done with basketball and went off to do whatever else away from the limelight, then sure, I don't care about what he's learned. If he wants me to believe that he's anything more than a piece-of-sh*t abuser, then let's see what's going on here.
When the Hornets gave him a QO this summer, there was a half-hearted apology of the AI-written variety published, but that was it. I am convinced he's not going to speak about this publicly, and the Hornets will probably not let journalists ask him questions about it. All under the guise of moving on and being here to talk about basketball, of course. Bare minimum of standards. I wanna hear him talk about this. I wanna see him do things. One of the good things about all the work Tim Hardaway has done is that he's both a former NBA great and the guy who launched a public tirade against gay NBA players and the LGBTQ population in general. Fame and notoriety provide a much taller pulpit than you would get otherwise. Use your damn position to speak because more people will listen. I get that it's not easy. Bridges volunteering at a women's shelter would be more than a little uncomfortable for everyone involved, but that's what journey to redemption should look like.
If it's possible. Maybe people are simply what they do and that's it.
