Thursday, February 08, 2007

Sticking with what seems to be a gay theme the past couple of days, Mr John Amaechi, a former NBA player, came out of the closet yesterday. The day before this admission, ESPN reported that a book was being published by an anonymous ex gay NBA player, and then a day later his identity was revealed. I suspected he may be gay awhile back, but I thought that may have been some of my paranoid homophobia kicking in, but it turns out I was right on the money. Lebron James had an interesting quote when he said that teammates have a certain trust/bond, and someone not admitting that they are gay breaks that locker room code. I'm quite sure there are many secrets not shared in the locker room Lebron, so I'm not quite buying that. But to be honest, it really isn't a big deal that this guy has come out of the closet. 1)He sucked as a player..I mean big time. He had no heart, and considering he was 6'11 and 290 lbs, he would routinely get pushed around. 2)He waited 4 years after he retired to say something, which sounds like he is trying to profit off of this via his book. and 3)If it is truly no big deal as he says, then why come out and announce it? Perhaps he is trying to make the NBA world more comfortable, so that someone else may come out. I sincerely doubt that, but I'm curious to see what happens. Oh and did I mention that Amaechi is Bri-tish? Perhaps I should rethink my fantasy of walking around with a Bri-tish accent...nah I'm taking my chances, I like the accent too much.

I hate to say this, because he is one of sports idols, but I fully expect Mike Tyson's life to end badly sometime in the next few years. He is a man with little money and nothing to do to fulfill his time. I read that he recently checked in the rehab for various addictions. Based on his recent arrests, they are probably cocaine, alcohol and weed. This is a man who with the help of his "entourage" and Don King went through more than $350 million dollars during his career. Bad investments, bad advice and just general recklessness have rendered the formal champion broke, lonely and living in Arizona. He has tried his hand at wrestling, Ultimate Fighting, and he's even mention fighting a woman at one point, all in the name of trying to make some money, and it hasn't worked. No one around him bothered to give him real advice, they just latched themselves on to he and his legacy, took the money and ran. Now he's a 40+ man who is paranoid, devoid of any remaining boxing skills, and headed for an early death. If I could reach him, I'd tell him to open a gym in a city where he felt comfortable, get someone to believe in him and sponsor him, and start there. All he really knows is boxing, but he can't fight anymore, so why not profit off of it, while helping out some youngsters in the process. It sounds easier said than done, but it has to be better than what he's doing now.

You ever get so nervous and anxious about something that you overthink it in you head to the point where you can't sleep or rationally think for about 2 to 3 hours? You want to talk to someone about it, and you may even try, but you end up falling hopelessly short and in the process you frustrate yourself and the person you're talking to. I did that last night, and it was the equivalent of being stuck in a figure eight.. For times like that, I wish I had a heavy bag hanging from the middle of my living room, so I could hit it repeatedly, until i was too tired to think and I fell out from fatigue. And that is yet another job opportunity for Mike Tyson, he could come show me how to hit it properly..I'm sure John Amaechi would have loved that sentence..

I Try - Angela Bofill

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rashad, just a theory but I wouldnt be surprised if 80% of the men in sports are bi...

poor Mike....

Janelle said...

Do you think his poor performance in the NBA was because he has the gay, because he was so consumed with keeping his secret, or because he just didn't play well enough for the professional arena?

Lebron James can afford to make that statement because he's straight and is so paid his greatgrandkids will be shitting dollar bills.

Jo said...

You ever get so nervous and anxious about something that you overthink it in you head to the point where you can't sleep or rationally think for about 2 to 3 hours? YES!

Rashad . . . I think your statements about Mr. Amechi were IGNORANT at worst and down right INSENSITIVE at best. I think it's great the gay fols come out of the closet and reveal who they truly are . . .so even if it's 4 years later, I do believe it's better late than never. It's also quite sad that you would say that it didn't really matter that he was gay, since he wasn't a good ball player anyway . . . what on Earth does that have to do with anything? Does it mean that had he been, let's say Deonne Sanders (who by the way I truly think is waaayyyy gay), that you would have been heart-broken and your masculinity would have been in question? Come on . . . if any of the other players is upset about him coming out, it's most likely because they are afraid of being outed or associated with him. It's time we lose the aversion we have to peoples sexuality. Hopefully sexual preference won't matter in sports over time . . .gay or not gay . . .

And of course he intends to make a profit off of his book . . .why else write it? If income wasn't the intent, then he could have just come out of the closet and become a spokesperson for GLAAD like Isaiah Washington! LOL!