“Do you find it hard to hide the fact that you’re gay? Hey, I don’t have a problem with it. I don’t care if you putt from the rough.” --Matt Damon as Will in “Good Will Hunting.”

Over the past 30 days, there have been approximately 50 forum posts that included the word “faggot” somewhere in the thread.

What is it about homosexual males that makes so many of you uncomfortable?

I’m not even going to try to be politically correct here, because: a) I don’t know what is P.C. and what is not these days, and b) because I believe writing on a touchy subject requires more blunt honesty than political correctness.

So what is it about dudes who do dudes that bothers you? Is it the whole penis-butthole thing? Do your religious beliefs reject homosexuality? If so, were you one of the folks who drained their savings accounts in preparation for Saturday’s rapture?

Seriously, what is it?

For the record, I couldn’t care less who’s doing who. It’s just never bothered me. But judging by the forum posts, there are a lot of Covers.com members who still consider calling someone gay an insult.

Kobe Bryant, of course, called an NBA ref a “f---ing faggot” late in the regular season. He apologized, saying that we shouldn’t take his words literally and that his language didn’t reflect his feelings about the gay and lesbian community. He man-hugged some gay guys, got fined $100K and the drama quickly subsided, along with the Lakers’ season.

Bulls' forward Joakim Noah followed Kobe's lead in Sunday night's Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

I wonder if a player would be afforded the same understanding if he let a racial slur slip. It seems doubtful, because evidently being a homophobe is much more acceptable than being a racist. There were only 10 forum posts in the last 30 days that included the word “ni**er.”

Last week, Phoenix Suns President and CEO Rick Welts and former Villanova men’s basketball player Will Sheridan announced publicly that they were gay. Welts came out in a New York Times article; Sheridan in an ESPN article.

Welts told the Washington Post that the reception has been overwhelmingly positive, which is certainly a good sign. Still, the fact that sports figures feel obligated to publicly announce their sexuality shows we have a ways to go – especially with the 25 to 35-year-old male demographic, which is large part of the Covers audience.

I remind you that as we make our push for the legalization and acceptance of sports betting, we need to present our community as intelligent and respectful and certainly not full of homophobes and racists.

Black Friday Update: Nevada passed a fundamental online poker bill last week, but we’re nowhere close to being able to play as easily as we had before Black Friday.

The bill simply instructs Nevada regulators to have a plan ready if the U.S. federal government legalizes online gambling. The goal is to have the plan ready is 2012.

Lou’s Leans: I was feeling good about my pre-playoff pick of a Thunder-Heat Finals. But after watching Dallas’ win in Saturday’s Game 3, it’s pretty easy to see the Mavericks are the superior team.

The 93-87 score is in no way indicative of what went on in that game – Dallas dominated, even with Dirk Nowitzki having a subpar game.

Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook continues to make ridiculously bad plays. He’s averaging five turnovers per game, with each one looking worse and worse. Yet, he played 42 minutes Saturday. He played 28 in Game 2, and the Thunder won.

I always hate when analysts say, “Well, I picked them to be in the Finals before the playoffs, so I’m going to stick with my prediction.’

I’m not afraid to change. Give me the Mavs and Heat in the Finals at +150 at Sportsbetting.com.