Gay in the NBA

The coming out party of former NBA player John Amaechi that he is gay and the subsequent media attention that it has received is testament that today's world is still ignorant of gays and lesbians regardless of the mass acceptance gays and lesbians have overcome in this supposedly and increasingly progressive world of diversity and individual uniqueness.

John Amaechi, who played in the NBA for nearly six seasons, was not a household professional athletic icon in basketball when he retired in 2004. His statistics during his six year tenure, in NBA standards, were below-average at approximately 6 points and 3 rebounds per game. I had a chance to see Amaechi play in the 2001-2002 season when the Los Angeles Clippers faced Amaechi's Utah Jazz and I certainly don't remember him being a standout talent on the court. Nonetheless, he had just enough talent to play at the professional level; and talent is the only prerequisite needed to play at this level regardless of your religion, skin color, and of course, your sexual orientation.

However, when John Amaechi announced that he was gay - making him the first male professional basketball player to publicly come out - he took the sports world by surprise. Philadelphia 76ers player Steven Hunter, who statistically averages similar point and rebound numbers per game as had Amaechi, said, "As long as he comes to play basketball like a man and conducted himself like a good person, I'd be fine with it," regarding Amaechi's sexual orientation. If Steven Hunter is implying that gay men are less of a man and conduct themselves like bad people, than clearly he has no idea as to what he is talking about and should not be taken seriously. Hunter's opinion is the epitome of how most ignorant people think - even in this widely progressive society.

Even more disturbing was Steven Hunter's teammate Shavlik Randolph's take. When asked about John Amaechi being the first NBA player to publicly come out, Randolph stated that he was okay with it as long as Amaechi did not bring his "gayness" on him. Like Hunter, Randolph too has no merit. It is the first time I have read that one's sexual orientation is also a type of disease, as if one's gay personalities can infect or poison others.

LeBron James, a superstar NBA icon and personality, did not impress me with his quote regarding Amaechi either. James was quoted saying, "With teammates you have to be trustworthy and if you're gay and you're not admitting that you are, then you are not trustworthy." Why would one's sexual orientation be needed in order to obtain trust on the basketball court? Sexual orientation is never used in the public workforce as a mean to employ and therefore should not be required for professional basketball players on the court either. Perhaps LeBron James, who is Christian, should also require that his teammates state their exact religion or spiritual belief before they step on the basketball court for it would apparently be detriment if James played alongside a person of differentiating beliefs.

Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, took a somewhat different perspective when commenting on John Amaechi and homosexuality in professional sports. As a businessman, Cuban took a business oriented stance regarding the situation. Cuban said, "From a marketing perspective, if you're a player who happens to be gay and you want to be incredibly rich, then you should come out, because it would be the best thing that ever happened to you from a marketing and an endorsement perspective. You would be an absolute hero to more Americans than you can ever possibly be as an athlete, and that'll put money in your pocket."

For the most part, this is accurate. Amaechi has a new book, Man In The Middle, which has gained prominent recognition. People want to read it and see if he names any other gay athletes. Because homosexuality still produces a shock value in society, those who are, write about, or discuss homosexuality on the public spectrum while stirring conservative and traditional homophobic emotions are bound to profit from it. It is the ignorance and hate in homosexuality that fuels this debate in allowing the bold few who do come out prone to greatly profit it.

Cuban then went on to say regarding those athletes who speak harmful of any gay man coming out that, "If you're the idiot who condemns somebody because they're gay, then you're going to be ostracized, you're going to be picketed and you're going to ruin whatever marketing endorsements you have."

It seems as though society is putting on a fake smile. One who comes out is subject to mass ridicule and displeasure from the public who is yet to fully accept the gay athlete - let alone the gay man - yet society punishes and sometimes even legally penalizes those who publicly speak negatively of the gay man. It is this paradox that is most disturbing in this continuously advancing world.

This brings us to the male locker room in professional sports. The male locker room has, is, and will most likely always be a place of all things related to the bragging of one's masculinity and the incessant comical references to homosexuality. The locker room is the worship space for the pinnacle of man. The epitome of masculinity. Because of this, there has never in history been a professional athlete who to openly come out as gay while being on the current active roster. Gays, therefore, are forced to lie in hiding their true identities.

In an excerpt from his book, Man In The Middle, Amaechi writes, "The NBA locker room was the most flamboyant place I'd ever been. Guys flaunted their perfect bodies. They bragged about sexual exploits. They primped in front of the mirror, applying cologne and hair gel by the bucketful. They tried on each other's $10,000 suits, admired each other's rings and necklaces. It was an intense camaraderie that felt completely natural to them. Surveying the room, I couldn't help chuckling to myself: And I'm the gay one."

Many say that what John Amaechi did was courageous. But what makes Amaechi's coming out party a bold one is the fact that ignorance still exists inside the locker room. Without this ignorance, Amaechi's story would not be one of courage, but rather one of norm. This helps explain why the former NBA player waited until after retirement to come out and why we will arguably never see a current active player announcing his homosexuality, unless he is prepared for mass criticism and scrutiny.

But outside all the criticism, I must give this post-modern progressive society some credit. What if Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant came out of the closet? Would the sports world and its male locker rooms turn against them in disgust as they did with John Amaechi or would they learn to embrace these players' homosexuality? I argue it would be the latter. Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant are superstar athletes - famous household names - who score more points than John Amaechi and are more valuable not only to the team, but also from a marketing standpoint. The value of these players is much higher than the intolerances associated with being gay, and therefore, society would embrace them regardless of their sexual orientation.

However, it is still unfortunate that homosexuals cannot publicly come out in the sports world and are forced to hide their personality. It is unfortunate that this post-modern world still cannot take a moment to truly decipher the meaning of masculinity in what makes a man a man. It is okay for your hairstylist to be gay. It is okay for your waiter to be gay. Perhaps it is also okay for your wardrobe consultant to be gay. Today, however, it is still not okay for an athlete to be gay. Based on the quotes, the NBA was shocked to witness a six foot ten black male athlete announce his homosexuality in a basketball culture where your baggy shorts and tough slam-dunks define your masculinity.

John Amaechi's sexual orientation certainly did not prevent him from averaging 6 points per game; two more points per game than homophobic straight man Shavlik Randolph and his "gayness" fears. In fact, John Amaechi even made some fierce slam dunks and even wore baggy shorts, much like any straight man in the NBA. One can also draw an analogy with the infamous superstar Dennis Rodman. Didn't Rodman dress in women's clothing on a consistent basis in the public realm? Why wasn't his masculinity challenged? It can be argued that John Amaechi is more of a man than Dennis Rodman since Amaechi does not dress in women's clothing. It is time that we set aside the stereotypes and redefine what makes a man a man - and it has nothing to do with the sexual preference in one's partner or which type of genitalia one prefers to embrace in bed.

It seems that no matter how far society advances, men's professional team sports will remain grounded in a homophobic world. As progressive as societies have demonstrated to be with emphasis on the individual and the diverse, professional sports is not nor will probably ever be ready to accept a homosexual teammate. John Amaechi's tale is testament that we are still radical conservatives at heart who are far from a truly forward progressive form of thought and acceptance in the world.

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On a side note, on February 12 John Amaechi did an interview with a popular Los Angeles sports radio show, The Big Show with John Ireland on ESPN Radio 710, and was asked if there are any current gay players in the NBA. Amaechi stated without any hesitation, "Yes. Of course."

But rest assured that none of these professional athletes will be coming out anytime soon.