"Gay, Love, from downtown and it's good!" Many have been waiting for this call to be made by a basketball sports announcer for years. It was almost reality when the Memphis Grizzlies (who already had Rudy Gay), drafted Kevin Love in the 2008 NBA draft. Sadly, they traded Love's rights to Minnesota that very night and did away with any dreams of a Gay-Love connection in professional basketball. For the past few years, my professional basketball analyst friends and I have lamented the loss every time we watch a game with one of these players in it. Not just for the endless laughter it would bring, but also because of the huge potential for promoting gay rights in America and abroad.
Professional sports has always perpetuated a machismo discrimination against homosexuality. Nowhere is it more prevalent than in the locker rooms of NBA basketball teams, where main stream homophobic rap culture reigns supreme. In 2007, career journeyman John Amaechi became the first openly gay NBA player.
Upon hearing this, Miami Heat legend Tim Hardaway responded with the following: "I hate gay people, I let it be known. I don't like gay people, I don't like to be around gay people. Yeah I'm homophobic, I don't like it. There shouldn't be a place in the world for it or in the United States for it. So yeah, I don't like it."
Mr. Amaechi went on to provide basketball commentary for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and was able to use it as a platform to promote social tolerance and acceptance for gay rights. Mr. Hardaway was roundly criticized and denounced, but the atmosphere of intolerance still exists to this day.
Luckily the stars have finally aligned; Gay and Love both made the final cut for the USA men's basketball team at the world championships this month in Turkey. As the US is embroiled in the gay marriage debate, we as a country, have the ability to demonstrate our love of freedom and equal rights, both at home and abroad. Cheers for Gay-Love will be heard by patriotic, god fearing American sports viewers, as well as bigoted regimes such as Ahmadinejad's Iran. Just imagine the blow to his policy of gay persecution after being eliminated on the world stage by a Gay-Love backdoor move at the buzzer. As a total basketball obsessive, I hope this provides a reason for civil rights supporters to pay attention to the game I love. It's a perfect opportunity to be socially conscious and laugh your ass off at the same time. So get out your rainbow flags, head to the nearest sports bar and cheer the Gay-Love train all the way to gold this month.
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