INFORMATION FOR

Although John Amaechi spent five seasons in the National Basketball Association, teaming with star players such as Karl Malone, John Stockton and Tracy McGrady, sports was not the focus of his speech Wednesday night.

Amaechi, who in February became the first NBA player to publicly announce his homosexuality, spoke to approximately 150 people in Page Auditorium on a range of topics including his life experiences and his views on homophobia in America.

He began by recounting his teenage years and his decision to travel from England to America to play basketball. Amaechi said he always wanted to attend Duke, but did not make the team and played for Vanderbilt University instead before eventually transferring to Pennsylvania State University. He said he was attracted to basketball at the age of 17 because it gave him the means to be normal.

"I was the fat little kid who hid in the corner and tried to be invisible," Amaechi said. "Basketball for me was this amazing opportunity to be normal, to be around people my own size and to inspire people."

Amaechi first entered the NBA in 1995 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, before playing in Europe. In 1999 he came back to America playing for the Orlando Magic. He retired in 2003 from the Utah Jazz.

He said teammates, coaches and reporters knew about his sexuality during his professional career and noted that the reaction he received from NBA community was expected. One notable response came from Tim Hardaway, a former Miami Heat guard. In an interview after Amaechi's announcement Hardaway said he hates gay people and would demand that a gay player be traded.

"It's a bell curve," Amaechi said. "You knew there would be the Tim Hardaways on one end of the bell curve, and there would be the Grant Hills, the Shaquille O'Neals and the Doc Rivers on the other end and in the middle there would be silence."

He added, however, that he believes athletes such as Hardaway need to be cautious with their public statements.

"People with big booming voices that reverberate around the world must be more careful," Amaechi said. "When he said he hated gay people, there was no place for it. He's got some damage to mend."

Amaechi also spoke about his general views on homophobia in the United States.

"When there is an overt act of racism, people charge down to Jena... black and white to protest," he said. "When there is an overt act of violence against women, especially on campuses, men rush to their sides to take back the fight. Forget the overt acts of homophobia, but when there are everyday acts-like how many times we have walked through the corridors and heard 'This homework is gay' or 'That dress is gay'-how many times has that garnered support?"

He added that some U.S. policies still discriminate against certain groups of people and rarely promote equality among varying groups with different sexual orientations.

"We still have laws and policies that say [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender] people are less than human, which is always remarkable to me," Amaechi said. "How many times in history are we going to do that? What's the next group we're going to decide is less than us? They are going to come after you."

The solution to eliminating homophobia does not rest within a specific field, but needs to come from a change in society, he said.

"Gay people in sports is a workplace issue, just as there are teachers at this institution who won't come out, for fear of where it might leave them, perhaps not progressing through their tenure or administration as fast as they could," he said. "Sports is a place where that change will happen after society demands it."

Students said they did not know what to expect from Amaechi but were pleased with his speech.

"This was my first encounter with someone who talked about experiences of being openly gay," freshman Moana Jagasia said. "I thought it was amazing. He covered a lot of issues such as being a minority, being a foreigner and being homosexual."

The event was co-sponsored by the Duke Human Rights Center, the LGBT Center and Duke University Union. The speech was followed by a book signing of Amaechi's biography, "Man in the Middle."

Article by Rahul Kale, Duke Chronicle, 10/18/07