King Kaufman's Sports Daily

As ex-NBA journeyman John Amaechi comes out, it's time for sports leagues to stop accepting intolerance as a given.

Read more: Sports, Gay Culture, NBA, Basketball, Homophobia, NFL, King Kaufman, Sports Daily

Feb. 8, 2007 | It would be nice to say that the announcement by former NBA journeyman John Amaechi that he's gay was a groundbreaking revelation, but truth be told, it isn't. Amaechi is the seventh male player in the major North American team sports to come out, all after their retirement.

I don't want to go as far as Michael Ventre, who took the postmodern route of devoting 1,007 words on the news site MSNBC to the proposition that Amaechi's announcement is "not news." But we have been down this road before.

The story has a familiar outline. A few supportive comments from within the game. A few neutral comments -- "We have a very diverse league," NBA commissioner David Stern said. "The question at the NBA is always 'Have you got game?' That's it, end of inquiry." A few unwelcoming but, in the wake of the reaction to San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst's hateful response to Esera Tuaolo's coming out in 2002, not blatantly homophobic comments.

And widespread agreement that it'd be a lot harder for a current player to come out.

"It's really a difficult thing to do, knowing the nature of sports and being in that locker room, it could be tough," Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell told the Canadian Press. Mitchell, a progressive guy, cited the immaturity of men in their 20s as a big stumbling block for a gay player to gain acceptance in the locker room. "I think it wouldn't be a lot of guys, but there would always be one or two on a team" who would have a problem with a gay teammate, Mitchell said.

And that's not to mention the reactions of opponents and fans.

We've been through this enough times now that it's time the story changed. David Stern is missing an opportunity with his shrugging comment asserting that the only thing that matters is whether a guy can play.

At any given time there are 360 active players on NBA rosters, plus an additional 120 in the NBA Development League. Chances are pretty good that a few of them are gay. Amaechi will tell ESPN's "Outside the Lines" this weekend that "there are some," though he won't identify any.

There are about twice as many baseball players in the major leagues and hockey players on NHL rosters at any one time. There are more than 1,500 players at a time on NFL rosters. And hiding among these thousands of men are who-knows-how-many gay men who, according to Amaechi, according to Tuaolo, according to the other former players who have come out, are terrified to tell the truth.

Next page: "Can he play?" is not all that matters if you're in a hostile environment daily. Stern should act