Phoenix Suns president Rick Welts announces he's gay to inspire young athletes

[mikeyank]

Now the president and CEO of the Phoenix Suns, the National Basketball Association team, Rick Welts, has publicly acknowledged that he is gay. Also in the last few days, CNN anchor, Don Lemon as done the same thing. It is so important for gay men in positions of prominence to announce to the world that they are gay, to show the world that not all gay men are hair dresser's or choreographers. Particularly in the heavily closeted world of professional sports, it is so important for a young athlete who is gay to realize that he is not alone.

This is a good column on the subject, written by Joanna Molloy in today's New York Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/columnists/molloy/index.html

 

[mikeyank]

Another man from the world of sports comes out

As I was driving in my car this afternoon, I found out that a popular sportscaster in New York for a number of years, and now a sports talk show host has also come out of the closet. I found this New York Post story on line detailing what he said.


ESPN Radio’s Max announces he’s gay on air



2:54 PM, May 19, 2011 ι By JUSTIN TERRANOVA
After years of reading news at WCBS 880 AM, Jared Max made at some at ESPN Radio this morning.

Two weeks into his new gig as early-morning host at 1050 AM, Max announced he was gay at the close of Thursday’s show.

“Are we ready to get our sports information from someone who is gay?” Max said. “Well, we are about to find out. For the last 16 years, I’ve been living a free life among my close friends and family and I’ve hidden behind what is a gargantuan-sized secret here in the sports’ world.

"I am gay.”

Max led up to the revelation by talking about Suns executive Rick Welts and former Villanova basketball star Will Sheridan, both of whom have come out of the closet this week. Max would later thank Charles Barkley, who said he has played with gay men in his NBA career and did not see any problem with it.

But Max said he believes that not just any current player can come out and say he’s gay.

“It would have to be a player of superstar status, not just a star, but a superstar to sway the momentum,” Max, 37, said. “Truth is, the world I grew up in and you did, was not ready for this. But today’s kids — my friends who have children — have told me it’s a different world now. ... Truth is, why should we cater to the bigots and the uneducated folks, it’s 2011?”

Max said this would be the only time the subject of his sexuality would come up on his show. He feared that admitting he was gay would have kept him from a career in sports broadcasting.

“In college I went through hell, suicidal thoughts on a regular basis all because I didn’t think I could live my dream because there was a major roadblock,” Max said.

 

[tampa24]

Great story Mike. And very relevant to the the times we live in. Thank you.

 

[mikeyank]

Another gay former athlete "comes out"

Being a big fan of collegiate and professional sports, I am always fascinated by the fact that so few former athletes and I believe zero current players ever admit publicly that they are gay. I do believe that approximately 10% of the population is somewhat or completely homosexual, and that the number is probably about the same among athletes, but they need to keep it under wraps more so than the average person.

I do hope to see a star in one of the major sports come out while he is still playing. A marginal player can be ignored but a super star will give lot's of attention to the old mantra of gay rights:

"We Are Everywhere"

This is an article I found on Will Sheridan, the former Villanova player:



Ex-Villanova Wildcats player Will Sheridan announces he's gay
by Dave Ryan on May 17, 2011 5:11 PM EDT

One day after Phoenix Suns CEO Rick Welts revealed to the New York Times that he's a homosexual, former Villanova Wildcats forward Will Sheridan waltzed out of the closet to the exact same tune on Monday.

In a compelling piece by ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil, Sheridan talks about how he informed teammates on his own time about his sexuality, and how minuscule of an impact the news actually had on the players around him. A 6'8" forward with the 'Cats from 2003-2007, Sheridan averaged 5.1 points and 5.5 rebounds in 133 career games. He was an especially valuable contributor at the defensive end of the floor, and was a member of three NCAA tournament teams.

Even though he made a point to inform his teammates, Sheridan did his best to keep his lifestyle under wraps in college. Villanova coach Jay Wright apparently had no clue about his sexuality during his playing days, even going as far as to call himself "oblivious" to the entire situation. But the question begs - Why now?

By waiting until his basketball career was over, Sheridan's announcement only strengthens the perception that "coming out" as a current athlete is akin to playing with fire. Teammates might have been overly accepting of his lifestyle at the time, but the same cannot be said for our society as a whole. Sheridan could have, and most likely would have faced unnerving levels of scrutiny for a kid who just wanted to come out and play a little basketball. And it's that fear alone that threatens to push other gay athletes who are still playing further and further into the depths of the proverbial closet.

Some might not view this particular story as newsworthy, and that's fine. Others might view it as a carefully conceived publicity stunt for his musical career, and that's fine too. But the fact of the matter is that Will Sheridan was a collegiate athlete who competed at the highest level, and every single one of his teammates knew about his sexuality and chose to ignore it.

Because of the ignorant level of thinking that permeates our sports culture on a daily basis, this is a man who had no choice but to bottle up his sexuality for as long as possible. And while he deserves all the credit in the world for clearing his conscience and coming to grips with his own sense of being, it's important to note that he waited roughly five years after his college days to make this news public. Until a current athlete comes forward and breaks the trend, it's hard to imagine the negative vibe surrounding gay athletes changing anytime soon.