The day before Kobe Bryant got in trouble for his homophobic slur, Phoenix Suns CEO Rick Welts met with NBA commissioner David Stern to talk about Welts’ desire to come out. He wanted to shatter the silence around homosexuality in men’s team sports and be a mentor to people who may shy away from a sport’s career — whether on the field or in the office — because they have the crazy idea that men’s sports are homophobic. Also, according to The New York Times, Sterns wanted to feel “whole, authentic.” Stern already knew that Welts was a homogay but hadn’t ever really tried to talk about it before. Stern said he’d do whatever he could to help.
When Bryant said what he said, it was Stern who issued that $100,000 fine, later telling the press , when asked about the perception of the NBA as homophobic, Stern said, “I think we’re going to get there.”
Rick Welts is 58 and has been working in sports for 40 years, starting as a ball boy. Before telling the world he also told Bill Russell (one of the best basketball players of all time and a friend of Welts’), Val Ackerman (WNBA founder) and Steve Nash (the white guy on The Suns).
On May 15, 2011, Rick Welts told the world that he’s gay. GAYYYYYYYYYY.
The New York Times quotes Dr. Richard Lapchick, the founder and director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, and the son of the basketball legend Joe Lapchick:
“The fact that there’s no other man who has done this before speaks directly to how hard it must be for Rick to do this now.”
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The New York Times goes into detail about Welts’ experience growing up gay in Seattle, Washington. Welts attended The University of Washington, “coveted job” with the SuperSonics enabled him to miss college dances and “other awkward obligations” without raising any red flags:
But for all the fraternal respect… Mr. Welts felt isolated. What little he knew of gay culture was stereotypical, and unappealing, he recalled. “In my mind, it was effeminate: a way that I would not define as masculine.”
Stern’s career path is remarkable and um, pretty awesome. He basically became BFFs with Bill Russell, got promoted a bajillion times and helped the NBA make a shitton of money (he created the NBA All-Star Weekend) eventually moving to New York as the league’s director of national promotions.
In 1977 he met an architect, Arnie, at a restaurant, and they moved in together in Manhattan, where The New York Times said they enjoyed “the live-and-let-live anonymity of the big city.” Welts’ parents and sister knew, but he stayed closeted elsewhere, certain (and correct) that the NBA wouldn’t be kind to his sexual orientation.
Then in 1994, Arnie died from complications related to AIDS and Welts only took two days off because he didn’t want anyone to notice his grief. His secretary “knew,” though they never discussed it explicitly, and she told everyone who called that a good friend of his had died. The morning after Arnie died, David Stern called Welts at 7:30am. “I totally lost it on the phone. You know. Uncle Dave. Comforting.” Stern also wrote one of many checks written in Arnie’s memory to the University of Washington — for $10,000.
He remained closeted, and his decision to do so was reinforced when shit happened like in 2007 when former NBA player John Amaechi came out and former NBA star Tim Hardaway announced that he hated all gay people. (This happening was the inspiration for The L Word Season Five’s uninspired Alice/Basketball Outing Storyline)
Then two years ago he had a bad breakup because his boyfriend of 14 years was sick of living a shadow life. Welts then started a journal, talked to his family, and considered the advice of his Mom who died last year from lung cancer to “do what he thought was best.” But ultimately Bill Russell sealed the deal with his support of Welts’ decision and desire to do whatever he could to help (Sidenote Bill Russell was a recipient of the 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is very important).
Bill Russell is Pretty Fucking Awesome
Steve Nash told The Times: “Anyone who’s not ready for this needs to catch up. He’s doing anyone who’s not ready for this a favor.”
This has been quite a year for people coming out of closets nobody’s even thought about opening before: Republican heavyweight Ken Mehlman, Soccer player Anton Hysen, a conservative formerly anti-gay senator, Christian music star Jennifer Knapp, country music star Chely Wright, Maxim Hot 100 Cover Star and actress Amber Heard and former Cheerio/Glee club member Santana Lopez.
Steve Buckley, a sportswriter who came out in January, recently appeared on Sports Center with our best friend Esera Tualo, which is worth watching just because we love Esera Tualo so much:
In that video the anchor asks “who’s gonna be the Jackie Robinson of this issue?” which I guess is a special way to say “who will be the first NBA/MLB/NHL player to come out while they’re still playing?” Good question. Hopefully this is one step in the right direction — acceptance and honesty coming straight from the top.
i am super proud of rick welts, and glad he survived what must have been some truly terrible nicknames back when he was younger. (dick welts comes to mind.) (poor guy.)
also in other unrelated news, we got cnn’s don lemon yesterday too. clearly our recruiting plan is working well.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/business/media/16anchor.html
sorry for totally hijacking this thread. everyone else actively commenting must be totally mad at me.
excellent! and yes, my rage cannot be contained. /rides unicorn into horizon
you stole my unicorn you bastard!
don’t be cry. there are enough unicorns to go around.
EVAN RACHEL WOOD BISEXUAL stole my unicorn. Maybe we can start a unicorn loss support group.
@dizzy i think that that is what ASS1.0 has been missing all along GET ON IT
i feel like there should be a retro-black-and-white avatar group on here…YALLS CONFUSING.
@allie: great minds think alike, and so do mine and @dizzy‘s.
one time someone wrote @terracottatoes and i saw the comment on my own.. it didn’t notify me. i’m not sure the @notifications work. someone should investigate this.
it shows up in your mentions, here: http://develop.autostraddle.com/as-members/terracottatoes/activity/mentions/
AND, HOLY WOW, I JUST DISCOVERED, maybe, that you are “terracotta toes” and not some weird amalgamation of “terracotta” and “potatoes”, which i had been trying and failing to pronounce for quite a while. MIND: BLOWN.
1)thank you for that link, i now feel mildly popular and will take every possible opportunity to @mention myself
2) OHMYGOD
YOUANDTHERESTOFTHEWORLD.
seriously you guys. cottage cheese, tomatoes, potatoes…
i’m thinking of adding a space. but my longdistanceinternetladyfriendperson who creeps around here occasionally says it won’t make a difference. StarchyVegetables I shall forever be.
sorry, ‘longdistanceinternetladyfriendperson’ isn’t an option for ASS1.0 profiles, so i don’t know what you’re talking about.
“it’s complicated”
I for one never read it as “terracot-tatoes” once, but now I feel as if that’s a sillier, more fun option.
@yodelmachine, indeed they do, to the point where I’ve also commented on @terracottatoes‘ username! I read it as a combination of “terracotta” and “tomatoes”. But this may be because I particularly like tomatoes…
there is also @fragola, which is Italian for ‘strawberry’… when she and @terracottatoes comment on the same thread, I get food cravings ;)
@yodelmachine I, too, constantly have that problem of figuring out how to pronounce terracottatoes. In my mind, I read it as “terra-cot-tatoes” even though I know in my other mind that it is ‘toes made from terracotta’.
yeah, i have definitely been reading it as “terra cotatoes”, if cotatoes rhymes with potatoes.
super. cool.
terra cotatoes forever. “toes made from terracotta” kind of freaks me out. of course now i’m all mixed up…cohabiting toes made from potatoes. and dirt (terra). yeah, sure, throw in that cottage cheese.
look, here are some clothes made from plants, maybe they will make it all make sense: http://shine.yahoo.com/event/green/weedrobes-artist-creates-stunning-garments-from-fruit-weeds-flowers-2482173#photoViewer=1
I’m so, so sad thinking of Rick taking only TWO days off from work when Arnie died. The fucking definition of disenfranchised grief, yo.
i want to give 1994 rick welts the biggest hug ever
also 2011 rick welts come to think of it
I know! My heart aches for him. That must have been doubly devastating.
When my brother lost his fiancee, he took the rest of the damn quarter off school. Two days? Makes me want to scream.
It’s tragic. And I was wondering whether he managed to get any time off work to care for Arnie while he was dying. I just can’t imagine having to show up for work every day, worrying about how your sick, sick partner is coping at home… Heartbreaking.
YOU GUYS. This guy helped start the WNBA. GAYYYYYYY
Awesome news. I went to college with Bill Russell’s grandson. They are indeed good people.
I’m happy that his coming out in the public eye was so well received. Hopefully this will pave the way for future athletes.
There was some good timing with this announcement because during the Heat/Bulls game last night there was an anti-gay bullying commercial with Jared Dudley and Grant Hill (who play for the Phoenix Suns).
There’s a good interview with Rick Welts on the B.S. Report with Bill Simmons.
Good for Rick Welts! He’s very brave to do this and I hope it goes well for him. I really admire him.