Derrick Gordon of UMass comes out as gay

[Washingtonian]

http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-comme...rrick-gordon-openly-smiling-decision-come-gay


Derrick Gordon sat waiting outside the film room, his knee bouncing furiously up and down. He had wanted to tell his teammates something for more than a year, and now he was about to say it. And he knew that once he did, a lot of things would be different.

A minute later, the sophomore shooting guard stood and walked into the room, accompanied by University of Massachusetts men's basketball coach Derek Kellogg. Gordon faced his teammates, a group of guys he liked but had always kept at arm's length.

That was about to change.

Kellogg spoke first. "We're all here together, and we need to love each other for who we are," he said. "One of your family members, your brother, wants to let you know something about himself."

There was a pause. And then Kellogg, sensing that Gordon needed help, tried breaking the ice. "I wanted to let you all know I'm gay," the coach said. His players all looked at him, stunned. What?

Gordon took his cue and spoke up.

"No, he's not. But I am."

 

[GMUSSTN]

This is great, but side note: why does espnW have a smoother/cleaner UI than actual ESPN?

 

[Nick]

Good for him, can't imagine the sense of relief getting that off your chest.

 

[phoenix-arizona]

This is great for the big money college sports. Hopefully this encourages other players to come out and be open and honest. Hopefully their team mates are supportive.

 

[GMU84fanman]

I love how the Coach handled the situation and feel he must be pretty proud of how his team reacted.

 

[Walter]

Gordon said, "People think gays shouldn't play sports." Who are these people? No one. Idiot. He thinks he is Rosa Parks.

 

[Cool Disco Dan]

I'm nervous to say this....Guys, I'm straight. I just really want to tell you that I like women in the bedroom and feel that you all must know this since we spend a lot of time talking hoops.

 

[Vurbel]

Gordon said, "People think gays shouldn't play sports." Who are these people? No one. Idiot. He thinks he is Rosa Parks.

Perhaps what he should have said is that there are people uncomfortable with homosexuality and are uncomfortable with a homosexual representing their university. Unfortunately, there are enough bigoted students (and alumni) that aren't going to be receptive to him. It will be interesting to see the different reactions, if any, at different arenas with different demographics.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

I'll be glad when a sexual preference for an athlete, politician, teacher, etc is no longer a story. Don't care whom he prefers in the bedroom...can he perform on the basketball court? That's what matters ultimately.

 

[polepino]

I'm nervous to say this....Guys, I'm straight. I just really want to tell you that I like women in the bedroom and feel that you all must know this since we spend a lot of time talking hoops.

Thank you for taking the first step, being a closet heterosexual is tough these days.

 

[Patriotfan49]

Man this new fad of coming out like this is played out all played out. All the hoopla about Michael Sam and hes going to struggle to latch on to an NFL roster.....I know there is a smaller portion who are against this, but the vast majority of the public and players could really care less.

 

[GMUSig03]

Man this new fad of coming out like this is played out all played out. All the hoopla about Michael Sam and hes going to struggle to latch on to an NFL roster.....I know there is a smaller portion who are against this, but the vast majority of the public and players could really care less.

I could not disagree more. I think people who have this opinion fail to imagine what it is like to stand in these people's shoes and feeling like they have to hide themselves to their closest friends and families. There is a civil rights movement going on in this country and courageous young men and women like Mr. Gordon, Collins and Sam are having a hugely positive impact on the movement. While a majority of people may have no concern over another person's sexuality, there is still a very vocal and powerful portion of our society that do. They are in our churches, our media, our government and our legislatures. This is why there is still a fight going on to get equal rights for homosexuals.

These actions are drawing attention to the issue and are a necessary part of the process to get to the point where it is not an issue and it is not considered immoral or being a degenerate to be gay. We have made a ton of progress in the last few years, but there is still a long ways to go.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

When you say "equal rights for homosexuals," I'm curious which rights you're referring to.

 

[A.-Siegfried]

Let's trend lightly here boys (and girls) it's still a basketball message board....easy on the politics before someone's feelings get hurt for no reason.

 

[HoopsAdmin]

Well said, A.Sieg. I agree. Let's not make a mess of this topic.

 

[Patriotfan49]

I could not disagree more. I think people who have this opinion fail to imagine what it is like to stand in these people's shoes and feeling like they have to hide themselves to their closest friends and families. There is a civil rights movement going on in this country and courageous young men and women like Mr. Gordon, Collins and Sam are having a hugely positive impact on the movement. While a majority of people may have no concern over another person's sexuality, there is still a very vocal and powerful portion of our society that do. They are in our churches, our media, our government and our legislatures. This is why there is still a fight going on to get equal rights for homosexuals.

These actions are drawing attention to the issue and are a necessary part of the process to get to the point where it is not an issue and it is not considered immoral or being a degenerate to be gay. We have made a ton of progress in the last few years, but there is still a long ways to go.

Personally I feel that soldiers, police officers, firefighters etc are courageous.....not guys like this. Also not sure I agree about the "civil rights movement".......not sure its quite the same as the actual civil rights movements of the past. I see obviously you are very invested in this kinda stuff, so to each their own.

My point of what I was saying, is after Michael Sam came out and all the following circus......majority didnt seem to really care. The media played it up, but at the combine all that mattered was his slow 40 time and his mediocre performance. There is always going to be a group that is racist, bigoted, intolerant.....but youd be surprised that the majority doesnt really care about that all. Most people are more concerned with their own lives and down really care what you do on your own time, as long as it doesnt negatively effect them.

 

[phoenix-arizona]

I guess it was important because even though Sam wasn't a great player per say, he smashed a barrier of sorts. He was trying to show that you could be openly gay and be an important piece of a team within a sport that has traditionally been very much full of machismo.

It wasn't so long ago that homosexuality was seen as a perversion, a mental illness, that homosexuals were very demonized and looked deeply down upon.

I suppose gay players coming so proudly out it is a big deal because it shows how far society has come in progressing towards tolerance and equality for sexual preference.

Did the media play it up more than it needed to be? Maybe so--but the media seems to want to get ratings, money from advertisers. They tend to blow up stories that people get passionate about (even if the people getting passionate are a small number of people).

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I guess it was important because even though Sam wasn't a great player per say, he smashed a barrier of sorts. He was trying to show that you could be openly gay and be an important piece of a team within a sport that has traditionally been very much full of machismo.

I agree w/the latter portion and add that at the college level, he was a pretty great player. If you look at the scouting reports on him though, his record breaking sack numbers came against non-SEC teams for the most part and against the elite left tackles often got stonewalled.

Now add to that, his entire team knew he was gay. I can't imagine that was going to remain a secret from NFL teams doing their due-diligence.

So adding those two factors together, was it a brave move (or as brave a move - there's undoubtedly something to being first), or was it a pragmatic move? He's now raised his visibility, is now a symbol beyond a football player for a team looking to make a statement, and has increased his Q rating in terms of sponsorship and appearance fees.

Would we be talking about Michael Sam at all if he was straight? W/out looking, how many can name the other defensive end at Missouri? It's Kony Ealy who on many boards is ranked just behind Clowney as the 2nd best DE prospect in this draft.

Agree that it's a tread lightly topic.

 

[phoenix-arizona]

It is certainly fairly possible it was done pretty cynically .

That would be sort of sad but not terribly surprising . Getting your 15 minutes of fame and cashing in seems to be the new American Dream

 

[Vurbel]

Let's be sure not to turn this board in to a political forum. Either that, or start a "hot button" thread. We all have our thoughts and opinions.