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Amaechi Opens Up Online

cnn.com

John Amaechi chatted with fans and readers on washingtonpost.com today, fielding questions about his NBA experiences, his buzz-magnet memoir, “Man in the Middle,” and his decision to come out after leaving pro basketball. Amaechi doesn’t sugarcoat his answers, but he reports that the positive reaction to his personal revelation exceeded his expectations, “so it’s been a pleasant surprise.”

washingtonpost.com:

D.C. [a question from a District of Columbia resident]: The biggest issue I see is with sharing locker rooms/shower facilities. Would you be offended if the news came out while you were active in the NBA and it was requested that you have separate locker facilities? They would never allow coed locker rooms, so why not for those who have different orientations?

John Amaechi: The question is so absurd—the idea that gay people can’t keep their hands or eyes or thoughts off other men, especially straight men, is absurd. It’s based on all the worst stereotypes. This is all based on the idea that gay people are predators and cant keep their hands off people. If people can’t look back 60 years at separate water fountains and separate bathrooms, then people will never learn from history.

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By jim mccoy, March 2, 2007 at 9:17 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Is there not other things more important to your readers and the citizens of this country than this “stuff” ?
Come on you are promoting it by printing it.

JIM

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By Christopher, March 2, 2007 at 8:21 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Props to John Amaechi for coming out. It took courage on his part and he’s to be lauded.

I hope this leads to other high profile sports stars coming out as well. How great would it be to see an MLB player say “I’m gay.”

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By Derek, March 2, 2007 at 4:43 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Ditto. I couldn’t have said it better.

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By Chaseme, March 2, 2007 at 2:54 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Imagine if John had come out while still playing basketball? Now that would have stirred things up in the league.

However, I find it hard to imagine others risking those extreme salaries by doing something like that. I also find it hard to imagine why wouldn’t you take risks for something you believe in so strongly?

Why not come out while you are still in the league? That way you have an opportunity to open doors for others like you. You have an opportunity to awaken the consciousness of everyone who have negative beliefs (Tim Hardaway) about who you are.

Saul Williams stated it perfectly in his song Coded Language: We enlist every instrument: Acoustic, electronic.
Every so-called race, gender, and sexual preference.
Every per-son as beings of sound to acknowledge their responsibility to
uplift the consciousness of the entire fucking World.
Any utterance will be un-aimed, will be disclaimed.

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