Sunday, February 11, 2007

Signs of Tolerance?

Former NBA player John Amaechi announced earlier this week that he is gay. The announcement coincides with the release of Amaechi's book "The Man in the Middle" on Feb. 14 and his appearance on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" today.

While the announcement produced some discussion about its impact on the NBA and on team sports in general, most sports writers and basketball experts agreed that it really didn't matter. What really matters is that a player brings his "A" game. Few people, in fact, criticized the announcement. Maybe that's a sign that we, as a society, are becoming more accepting of gay athletes.

Amaechi isn't exactly a household name and spent only five seasons in the NBA with three different teams. I wonder how the league and fans would react if this announcement came from a more high-profile player currently playing in the league? Would people be as tolerant?

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