Thread: His life in the NB-Gay

Ex-player bounces out of closet with tell-all about his pro secret.

A former NBA player reveals in his new autobiography that he is gay and that he played years of pro basketball without his secret being exposed.


Journeyman center John Amaechi said he led an actively gay life during most of his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz between 1995 and 2003.


"Friends often marvel at the fact that my personal and professional lives remained largely separate for so long," the Boston-born , British-raised Amaechi writes in his book, "The Man in the Middle."

"When I was in New York during road trips, I'd check out Splash, a big gay club in Chelsea. . . . I was hiding, but in plain sight."

Amaechi, 36, spent years under the radar, from his first gay encounter in a men's room at Penn State, where he played his college ball, to his final years in Utah, where he claims head coach Jerry Sloan traded him for personal reasons.


In the book, Amaechi said the coach could not "comprehend me, especially my sexuality," adding he was then unceremoniously dealt to the Houston Rockets.

The deal essentially ended Amaechi's career. He was later sent to the Knicks but never played for them and retired in January 2004.


Amaechi first revealed his secret life to friends and family members during the late 1990s when playing in Europe, and led an active gay life in England while with the Sheffield Sharks.


But the 6-foot-10, 270-pound Amaechi lay low in America, hiding behind the over-the-top antics of his fellow "flamboyant" players.


"The guys flaunted their perfect bodies. They bragged about their sexual exploits. . . . They primped in front of the mirror, applying cologne and hair gel by the bucketful," he writes.


"As I surveyed the room, I couldn't help chuckling to myself: And I'm the gay one. Hah!"

Amaechi's only brush with outing came during his years in Utah.


A former boyfriend threatened to sell a story about Amaechi to the British tabloids. The ex claimed he'd also had sex with a male pop star and intended to broker the deal as a "two-fer."

But Amaechi's then-publicist managed to quash the story.


Now Amaechi is ready to spread the word himself and will make a public announcement on Sunday's "Outside the Lines" program on ESPN. "Man in the Middle," published by ESPN Press, will arrive Feb. 14.

Amaechi is the first former NBA player to announce publicly that he is gay, but five other ex-players in other sports have identified themselves as homosexual since former NFL running back David Kopay came out of the closet in 1977.

Amaechi writes that he wants what any pro athlete might want: to be a role model.
"If a cynic like me can be inspired by the very act of being out," he writes, "then perhaps I owe it to others to do the same."

Originally published on February 7, 2007

Originally Posted by americanwit

wake me when someone who is still playing comes out.

Why need a date? Has been pros arent good enough for ya?