John Amaechi's Timeout - The Nation, April 16 2007

[ComerPerro]

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070416/zirin

"I'm going up to my room for some of my own fresh Earl Grey. I can't stand the hotel's." Never before have I interviewed a pro athlete who referred to himself as a "tea snob." But then again, John Amaechi is hardly the typical ex-jock, and his newfound existence as "the first former professional basketball player to be openly gay" has little to do with it. Amaechi, raised in Britain, sounds more like Laurence Olivier than Lawrence Bird. He writes poetry. He has opinions beyond "playing one game at a time." He is also a principled man of the left, passionate about challenging the war in Iraq, the NRA, racism and, now that he is out of the closet, homophobia.

<<snip>>

Then there's the Iraq War, which he vocally criticized as a player back in 2003, when it wasn't easy. It was a road trip with the Utah Jazz that pushed him to speak out.

"We were on a trip to Phoenix, and when we got to the Arena, it was just shocking! At halftime the war started and we all were ushered into locker rooms and we watched the President's announcement, and people were cheering, then through the loudspeakers in the locker room and out on the floor it was 'God Bless America' and 'Born in the USA,' which is actually an antiwar song! But what people were saying at that time, and the look in their eyes, the baying for blood--it was unbelievable!"

<<snip>>

Expect more from Amaechi in the future: "I've always been a political activist. But in terms of LGBT issues and diversity issues in general, yeah, I'm certainly going to step up now. One of the major problems we have is that people need to stand up, be counted and say, 'Unacceptable that in my high school kids get assaulted with the word "gay," meaning stupid or bad or wrong or dumb. Unacceptable that the F-word is being used on a regular basis in workplaces. Unacceptable that coaches talk about "throwing like a girl." Unacceptable that coaches and teachers and bosses allow that kind of rhetoric to go on unchallenged. Unacceptable.'" Here comes the challenge.





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I am not sure how many DUers very seriously follow sports, but Amaechi has published a book about his life and experiences that looks to be a pretty good read. It first got my attention back in early March, when a section from his book Man in the Middle was published in ESPN The Magazine. Here's that article, I suggest giving it a read.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=espnmag/amaechi

from the lead in to the article:

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.





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Review of Man in the Middle, from OutSports

http://www.outsports.com/nba/20062007/0208amaechireview.htm

"Man in the Middle" is one of the smartest, most fulfilling sports books I've read. From what I can tell, it comes from a smart man leading a very fulfilling life.

[ComerPerro]

1. trying one kick

[ComerPerro]

2. last try. No sports fans?