'Use a condom', ex-NBA player tells Haitians

A former NBA basketballer has written an open letter in which he criticises the Haiti earthquake relief effort and blames citizens of the impoverished nation for not doing more to protect themselves from disaster.

Paul Shirley, who played for Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix during a brief NBA career, posted a blog entry today in which he suggests that money sent to Haiti to aid its recovery would be wasted, and in which he said overpopulation, poor governance and geographic risk factors contributed to the high death toll.

"The place is routinely battered by hurricanes, it holds the aforementioned title of poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, and it happens to sit on a tectonic fault line," he wrote.

"If the government is not doing enough for the people, it is the people's responsibility to change the government. Not the other way around."

In one section of the blog, Shirley penned a mock letter to survivors of the quake. In it, he asked "If it's possible, could you not re-build your island home in the image of its predecessor? Could you not resort to the creation of flimsy shanty- and shack-towns? And could some of you maybe use a condom once in a while?"

The majority of reponses posted to the blog's comments section condemned Shirley.

"If you consider the Haitian poor responsible for their plight, I consider you responsible for your ancestors' actions. How about you spend the rest of your life atoning for them?", wrote one anonymous author. "To hear ignorance finely articulated is a disturbing experience," wrote another.

"I actually agree with what he saying," wrote a Ed. If Haiti was better run none of this would happen. However what's done is done and we should help Haiti look forward not backward."

Shirley expected to be criticised for his viewpoint. In his Twitter feed, he linked to the blog with a message which read "Remember - only trying to make ppl think."

- NZ HERALD ONLINE