That's not a skeleton in my closet, it's my boy-toy!

So the sports world (well, mostly the pro basketball world) has been rocked by a couple of "scandals"...

John Amaechi, a quality if unspectacular center for several seasons, has come out of the closet. You can read an excerpt from his book "Man in the Middle" (no, I'm NOT going to go there...). Many questions abound about why he didn't come out earlier, why keep his life secret, yadda yadda yadda...

Well, in scandal number 2, we find out why. Tim Hardaway says "I hate gay people" and goes on to say things like "I wouldn't want him on my team", etc. Nice Tim. Way to promote the anti-gay sentiment. The next athlete who is gay will CERTAINLY out himself (herself?) now that you've set the landscape...

But frankly, I don't think a sport like the NBA is the right place for a player to come out. DEFINITELY not football, hockey, nor baseball. Look at the microcosm of sports and the people who play them today - the abundance of testosterone, masculinity, groupie promiscouity (e tu Shawn Kemp?), the entire attitude and presentation of professional athletes is "we are manly men, kicking ass, taking names, screwing bitches, we are the uber-mensch of the world!". Regardless of how good a player that person was, and regardless of how much acceptance gay people have garnered in the last however many years, I really don't think that it's good for a homosexual to come out while playing professional sports. Not because it will make them less of a person or player, but because their professional peers are, for the most part, homophobic. Or somewhat homophobic. They will ostracize and segregate their gay teammate, forcing him or her to lead a miserable and lonely existence. Sure, there will be some who don't care, but let me ask you this...of the people who said they "didn't care really" about Magic Johnson being HIV positive, how many of them do you think would trade physicality in the paint with him for a rebound, taking a chance to get a bit bloodied? NONE! Different diseases, same attitude.

By the way, in all this, Amaechi has conducted himself with class and dignity and without apology for who he is...his response to Tim the homophobe Hardaway? "It's what stops gay and lesbian people in the workplace from coming out."