Tim Hardaway and Alonzo Mourning put the Miami Heat on the NBA map.
Now the team hopes teaming the two again will make a mark in the community.
Hardaway, whose straight-forward style got him exiled from the Heat, NBA and pretty much any other human being concerned about their reputation, was recently named the team's new community and corporate liaison.
That community would also include the gay community, which Hardaway infamously lambasted on a local radio show in 2007, dropping the "hate" word several times.
The former Heat point guard has apologized several times for his comments and local and national gay activists have somewhat forgiven him, but we don't think the Heat would have made this move without the consent of gays. Team President Pat Riley did so before deciding to lift Hardaway's No. 10 to the rafters at AmericanAirlines Arena last year as part of retiring Hardaway's number.
It's unclear what the "liaison" does exactly, but more than likely it includes public appearances at Heat sponsored basketball camps and charity give aways. Hopefully, it doesn't include any radio interviews.
Mourning, the only other Heat player to have his jersey retired, became the team's vice president in charge of player development last year.
Local
Maybe this was the Heat loyalty Dwyane Wade was talking about last week.
