Former NBA center comes out in book
 

Former center John Amaechi admits to being gay in his soon to be released book " Man in the Middle" interesting thought I had was what was he in the middle of hahahaha

A power forward and a small forward, maybe? Or perhaps "the court" if it were tip-off time? Possibly, "the lane" were he trying to get through for an offensive rebound?

Total conjecture on my part.

Ah my friend, but I am actually the master.

The best one ever was when my friend told me (on the topic of sausage) that "I never liked italian sausage until I met Matt"

Matt is her husband and italian.. it was great!

i'm glad he came out -- because there are more out there that we certainly don't know about but they don't say anything because of the macho nature of sports.

better late than never.

Was he a BIG man....Opppps I mean a center,or forward ?

In response to the first bold section I've made in your post: No.

In response to the second bold section I've made in your post: That's ridiculous. Nobody gets "hurt" by having a closet homosexual in the locker room. The only time someone starts getting "hurt" is when everyone knows that the guy in the locker room is a homosexual....and I'll give you one guess who the person is that gets hurt by that.

Because they're baby steps. None of these guys feel comfortable enough to come out while they're playing a professional sport (understandable), which serves to perpetuate the myth that only heterosexuals play professional sports. By doing this (coupled with the Seahawks (?) player who did so a few years back), little steps get taken in breaking down societal stereotypes. Sounds like a fine reason to me.

Professionally, I work with professional athletes. Many I get to know well and am proud to call them friends. Others, I don't get to know well, and in some cases, I really don't want to. Those client relationships usually don't last long, and that is most often my doing.

Anyway, there are many athletes who are gay who don't "come out" for a massive number of reasons -- personal, professional, family, occupational, and others. I don't sit in judgement of any of them and I've found that often, when thinking about the where, when, why, how, etc. they should or should not "come out" is a very circular discussion, and ultimately a circular debate. It's easy for someone on the outside of the situation to have an opinion, perhaps a definitive one. However, I am not so sure that as an outsider to that specific situation, one can truly empathize and stand in that person's shoes so to speak.

Eric

Well, I can see by both the original post as well as some of the follow-up posts that there is still a long road ahead....sad, not the least bit unexpected but still sad. I would really like to know how the guy keeping his personal life to himself in any way harmed other players??? What, don't tell me you think being gay is contagious?

Excellent point(s). There is without question a societal and cultural aspect to this discussion.

Eric

Who cares if he is gay. Who cares about him at all? A book is always the reason that these stories appear.
When T.O. 's book comes out we will have a story.

is it possible to come OUT of the closet...and then go back in?

A friend of mine who is gay (not that there is anything wrong with that) recently told me that he has found himself checking out women's asses more and more of late.

This may be the funniest unintentionally funny post I have ever read.

Chuck...I almost started laughing hysterically when he told me this. He is a great dude...and you would never know he is gay. I told him that before I really met him, I would have never had guessed he was gay. His response?

"Yeah...I'm very butch"


...and all this time I thought only some lesbians were considered butch.

i don't get why anyone has to 'come out'. i do think many people have a long way to go to accept everyone else. but why is our sexuality anyone's business but our own?
but then, why is it called coming out anyway? obviously anyone writing an autobiography would discuss their significant other, so it's not like i think you should keep your yap shut if your other doesn't fit into some peoples idea of who they should be-or what they should be.

as for inferring that the team had a right to know to avoid some kind of damage, that's the craziest thing i've read here all day-or anywhere for that matter.

Apparently we have not covered the difference between being gay and being African-American.

If I am African-American, you can tell when you look at me, so you have no choice but to know.

If I am gay, you cannot tell when you look at me, so I have every right to not tell you if I believe that my being openly gay will affect every portion of our professional relationship.

If you're not even getting a rudimentary understanding of the difference between Jackie Robinson and a gay basketball player, then we're heading into the world's single biggest lost-cause conversation.

I do actually, I'm just saying that Jackie Robinson had no choice. It was play baseball and put up with it, or don't play baseball. A homosexual has a choice. They can play the game and keep that part of their life private and not have to deal with it, or they can tell people they're gay and share that part of their life and deal with every single consequence that comes with it from shunning from team members and heckling by fans.

Now, I understand very clearly that Robinson dealt with the same things....but given a choice as to whether or not to deal with that....I don't know many people who would elect to expose themselves to harrassment like that.

It has nothing to do with having balls, it has to do with maintaining ones emotional well-being at the workplace. And given the choice to do so, these gentlemen will continue to do so.

Helps sell books about a marginal NBA player that no one cared anything about before he came out.

He was a marginal player at best. It's not like he was a star, they would get rid of a player like him in a minute if he caused any waves.

hes from England so im not surprised he is a sissy boy

Your Chihuahua still alive?

It would be cool if someone like Ray Lewis was gay but in an unhappy manner. So someone gives him chit about it and he kills them... or his friends kill them while in a sour mood.

Anyways death and destruction occur, so gays are no longer referred to as gays, they are referred to as ill-tempered homosexuals.

Think Canon is right. The guy was very marginal and is trying to make some bucks. Dont think this will illicit the teeming millions to march on DC.

Oh by the way I hear there are clinics where gays can get fixed... into unhappy heterosexuals. They charge about 200 bucks a session. Lots of them affiliated with Christian Churches. Saving millions while earning the same.

Oh man, as always, The Onion comes to the rescue:

http://www.theonion.com/content/news..._out_as_former

STOCKPORT, ENGLAND—British homosexual John Amaechi sent shockwaves throughout the sporting world last week when he announced, much to the surprise of his family and friends—in addition to NBA players and fans—that he lived a double life for five years in which he secretly worked as a professional basketball player.

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"It was difficult living with this secret," said Amaechi, who in his new autobiography Man In The Middle reveals that he played in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, and perhaps most shockingly, the New York Knicks. "I loved it and hated it at the same time. And I was afraid that if I ever acted on some of my impulses, like say by requesting more playing time, that I would have ultimately embarrassed myself and everyone close to me."

"Now, it's like a tremendous weight has been lifted," Amaechi added, stating that although he still feels a certain shame about his furtive involvement in the often shadowy world of professional basketball, it has been a great relief to finally be able to speak openly about his professional life.

According to Amaechi, who spent most of his NBA career on the bench and only averaged six points and two rebounds per game, he knew at an early age that he was different from all the "normal players" when he went undrafted out of college, was unnoticed during his first season in which he only played 28 games, and was never involved with guns, drugs, or shifty agents. Amaechi claims he never once had the urge to record a sub-par rap album.

Furthermore, no matter where Amaechi played, he always felt "awkward and out of place" on the court, adding that he was "never really certain if [he] was a center or a power forward."

"I had no idea," former Cavaliers teammate Terrell Brandon said. "Sure, I saw John around the Cavaliers, but I didn't want to jump to any conclusions. He was tall, yeah, but he didn't look like a basketball player. He didn't act like a basketball player. And just because he hung around with a lot of basketball players and sometimes wore flashy jewelry, that didn't necessarily mean he was one, y'know?"

"Oh, please—I knew it all along," former Jazz teammate John Stockton said. "I mean, just look at the way he dressed—basketball jersey, mesh shorts, sneakers… There was, in my opinion, no doubt that he was, at least a little bit. Just because he was homosexual doesn't mean he couldn't be a basketball player."

In his book, Amaechi states that he even hid his occupation from his parents because he "came from a traditional British household" and his parents would not have approved of their son being an NBA player. Amaechi admits he was constantly worried during the Jazz's nationally televised playoff series with the Sacramento Kings in 2002, because cameras panning over to the bench could have revealed to his family and friends at home that he was in the NBA.

"The last thing you want is for them to find out that way," said Amaechi, who claims his parents have been "very supportive and accepting, although they don't understand why someone would want that kind of life."

"I think Coach [Jerry Sloan] knew," said Amaechi, adding that Sloan treated him differently than his teammates, most of whom played significantly more minutes. "And, I am sure that some of the diehard fans, the ones who came to every game and stayed even when we were getting blown out, I think they knew."

"But what hurt the most was that I didn't feel comfortable around my own teammates," he added. "And if I had told them I was a basketball player, I don't think they would have accepted it, or even believed it."

The response to Amaechi's announcement around the league has ranged from complete indifference to unconditional support.

"I can't believe I showered with that guy," said former Jazz teammate Karl Malone, who played with Amaechi for two seasons. "I mean, it's just weird. I really think I would have remembered something like that."

"Good for him," said Houston Rockets shooting guard Tracy McGrady, who played with Amaechi when he was on the Orlando Magic. "You know, I wish he would have come out earlier. Like in the third quarter of some games. Maybe he wasn't the best gay basketball player I've ever seen, but we could have used another big man in the lineup."

Though he refused to name names, Amaechi said that he knows other men out there who, unsuspected by the world, are also living secret lives as professional basketball players.

"I just hope my new book will inspire them to come out when they retire," Amaechi added. "Despite the way we're portrayed in the media, and in spite of the way we're treated by the world at large, being an NBA player is nothing to be ashamed of."

That's what I think. It's news because his publicity people did a good job. That's all. If retired U.S. Army Generals can go on CNN to share their concerns with the War in Iraq and, of course, sell their new book, I guess it's not surprising Amaechi can get some press too.

Because of the way life is, a gay player on a team sport will never come out while still active. You will always see players who have retired come forward. Even mediocre to poor players make tons of money. They will not jeopardize that. I'm sure there are tons of tennis players and golfers who don't even come out...so team sports...no you won't see it until after retirement and if Amaechi wants to make money selling a book, more power to him. AS others have said, it's not a big deal...this issue.