Former NBA Player John Amaechi Comes Out of the Closet

John Amaechi, a former center in the NBA, is rumored to be announcing his homosexuality next week. According to Outsports, Amaechi will be a guest on the February 13^th episode of ESPN's "Outside the Lines." During the show Amaechi will discuss his homosexuality and his upcoming book, Man in the Middle, which is being published by ESPN Books. The work details his life as a gay man in the NBA and also explores his work as a philanthropist.

Amaechi was raised in England and started playing basketball in his teens. As his biography on the National Basketball Association website states, Amaechi is one of only seven undrafted players to start in his first game (1995 with the Cleveland Cavaliers). Throughout his five seasons in the NBA, Amaechi played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz. He averaged 6.2 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game, average statistics for a non-starter. He scored a career high 31 points against the Denver Nuggets on March 11, 2000.

An excerpt of Amaechi's book is featured at Outsports, which contains the following passage: "By the end of my second Utah season, I was practically daring reporters to take the bait and out me...But it never happened. My sexuality, I felt, had become an open secret, which was fine by me. I'd left enough open to interpretation that suspicions were gaining momentum." Though Amaechi may have felt that his homosexuality was obvious, because no other NBA player was openly gay, the media chose to ignore Amaechi's "dare."

Amaechi is no longer playing in the NBA. Rather, he is focusing his time on his charity efforts, which include the ABC Foundation, an organization that Amaechi founded. According to the ABC Foundation's website, the group "aims to increase participation in physical activity and holistic support services by building affordable, quality facilities and making expert coaches, respected mentors and educators available to all young people." Amaechi also spends his time running Animus Consulting and is pursuing his PhD in psychology.

With Tuesday's announcement, Amaechi will become the first NBA player to come out. He will also join a handful of prominent professional athletes to announce their homosexuality, including WNBA player Sheryl Swoopes, who announced her homosexuality last year. Amaechi's announcement will signal the beginning of his involvement with GLBT organizations throughout the world and perhaps pave the way for more NBA players to announce their sexuality.

Sources

http://www.outsports.com/nba/20062007/0207amaechi.htm

http://www.outsports.com/nba/20062007/0207amaechi.htm

http://www.meech.org/

http://www.animus-consulting.com/consulting/index.htm