HoopsHype.com Columns

Don't expect coming outs in the NBA
by Eddie Johnson / November 8, 2005

A couple of weeks ago, WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes admitted she had been living a double life and she was tired of not being able to show affection for her partner in a public setting. So she went public and opened the door to the life she has been leading for the past few years.

Swoopes is not the first athlete to admit being gay and it's hardly a surprise to pundits of the WNBA, who have always insinuated that a high number of players in the league are lesbians.

I worked as a broadcaster for two years with the Phoenix Mercury and I can honestly say that only a few players were openly dating persons of the same sex. The rest were very private about their sexual orientation – which is what it should be.

Swoopes did not have to expose herself in that light. She could have kept her private life to herself, but like all couples I am sure they wanted to express their feelings in public – which she has every right to do and for this I admire what she did.

I will not be surprised at what Swoopes has done by coming out if, as I suspect,  she had more motives than just being tired of hiding. I guess we will see in the coming months if that was her only reason.

I am not interested in a book, movie or interview. If I see that pattern, then we will know it was planned and calculated to encourage the public to reach into their pockets

The sports world in a sense has suspected what Swoopes came forward with in regards to the WNBA, but the question remains... Is the sports world ready for a high-profile male athlete announcing his sexual orientation in the way Swoopes announced hers.

Forget about it. And here is why you will never hear those words...

The male athlete has forever been judged on toughness and perseverance. The hardcore physical part of the male athlete is always being judged amongst his peers. I know that anytime a player was perceived to be different in that respect, it caused his teammates to respond differently – which made things in the locker room a little uneasy. Players are subjected non-stop to bantering and pushing on a daily basis and if you show a sign of difference in your private life, you can be treated differently in the locker room.

The ego of the male athlete will not allow another to come out of the closet. That player would be whispered about and scrutinized for the rest of his career. He will also be tested with confrontations from not only teammates, but the opposition as well.

More importantly how many organizations would roll the dice and sign him to their team? It would be difficult because they would be concerned about player reaction.

The locker room is a sanctuary for athletes. This is the area where boys evolve into men. There are conversations that occur inside locker rooms that should never appear outside of it. There is a code of honor about that sanctuary that, if broken, can become a negative footprint on a player for the rest of his career no matter what team he plays for. If a player comes out of the closet, he would lose all acceptance inside the sacred domain of the locker room.

Do players have an idea or suspect certain players might be bisexual or gay? Yes, they do. But as long as the player denies it, it's OK.

I always thought the homophobia that exists among some athletes was almost comical. I personally think it's sad. And why would some of them become so combative when the subject arose? I have also been suspicious of players that acted irrationally toward a player suspected to be bisexual or gay. Who cares what sexual preference a person has as long as they respect yours?

Have I played with players who I suspected were homosexual? Yes, I have. Did I care? No, I did not. Never bothered me because I did not see them as a threat to me. Only God can judge their choices, not me.

Those are the cards that are dealt in the world of athletics when it comes to this discussion. That's why we will never see a male player come forward during his career like Swoopes did.

I understand this is a sensitive issue and there are no winners. I do know, after 25 years of playing organized sports and playing with over 500 different teammates, that no player has ever hinted about coming out and that's why in my opinion the only way a male player in team sports will come out is if he is retiring the same day.

Eddie Johnson is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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