John Amaechi still has fond memories of Salt Lake City despite his struggles on the basketball court.
The first former NBA player to acknowledge he was gay said his affection for the community balanced out his scant playing time and clashes with his Utah Jazz coach. In memoirs published in February, he called Salt Lake City "the hippest, gayest place east of San Francisco."
Amaechi returns to celebrate that by serving as the grand marshal for this weekend's Utah Pride Parade. He has also accepted grand marshal honors for parades in Los Angeles and Chicago.
"I really owe Salt Lake. My time there would have been so multiply miserable had it not been for so many people -- gay, straight and otherwise -- who made my time there so special," he said.
Amaechi signed with the Jazz in 2001, feeling betrayed by his former team, the Orlando Magic, who he claims reneged on a promise of a rich contract. His mentality that basketball was his job -- not his life -- didn't fly with Utah coach Jerry Sloan, Amaechi said.
He made several good friends in Salt Lake City and often hosted parties at his downtown loft, which was where he stayed when those friends headed to Salt Lake's gay clubs. Guarded about his sexuality while in the NBA, Amaechi was careful about going out.
He is naturally reserved: Don't expect to see Amaechi dancing on a float tomorrow. He'll leave that to some friends joining him in the parade.
"I'm not as dynamic and sexy," he said. "I'm much better at giving a few words."
Giving a few words is what Amaechi does these days. He works as a motivational speaker, addressing organizations and corporations in Britain and the US, usually on the importance of diversity and communication. He also runs the Amaechi Basketball Centres Foundation in England, which uses the sport to teach life skills to children.
Coming out has resulted in many book signings and invitations to speak, mostly to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered groups.
"Now it seems in America I'm just `that gay guy,'" he said.
That fixation probably needs to change before a professional male athlete will come out while still playing, Amaechi said. He said he hasn't heard from any former teammates currently in the NBA since his admission.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS