Sheryl Swoopes comes out

Houston Comets star Sheryl Swoopes has outed herself in a magazine article.

“My reason for coming out isn’t to be some sort of hero,” Swoopes said in an interview that appears in the current issue of ESPN The Magazine. “I’m just at a point in my life where I’m tired of having to pretend to be somebody I’m not.

“I’m tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about. About the person I love. Male athletes of my caliber probably feel like they have a lot more to lose than gain (by coming out). I don’t agree with that. To me, the most important thing is happiness.”

In the ESPN magazine article, Swoopes said she has been involved in a same-sex relationship with former Comets assistant coach Alisa Scott since shortly after divorcing Eric Jackson, her high-school sweetheart and husband of three years, in 1999.

According to the ESPN article, the 34-year-old Swoopes is the most recognizable athlete, male or female, to come out in a team sport. In September, Swoopes became the first WNBA player to be named MVP for a third time.

According to this AP wire story, Swoopes has denied that being gay was the reason for the breakup of her marriage. Though she certainly is the highest-profile team sport player to come out, she’s not the first such WNBA player; to the best of my knowledge, that would be former New York Liberty center Sue Wicks.

Comets coach Van Chancellor said he had been aware of Swoopes’ impending announcement for several days. He refused to comment or speculate about how the announcement might affect Swoopes’ future in the WNBA.

“I’ve coached Swoopes for nine years for the Houston Comets as well as with the (USA Basketball) national team,” Chancellor said. “What she does in her personal life is her own decision.

“I respect everything about Sheryl, how she’s handled herself on and off the court. To me, she will always be one of the greatest ambassadors for the game of women’s basketball and as a person has helped me win four (WNBA) championships and two gold medals.”

Speaking as a five-year Comets season-ticket holder, I predict Swoopes will get a big ovation the first time she steps on the court next year. The fans love her, and I just don’t see too many of them objecting to this. And yes, the gay and lesbian community of Houston makes up a sizeable portion of the Comets’ fan base. She’ll do just fine here.

An interesting question will be how her revelation will affect any endorsement deals she currently has.

She was named [NCAA] National Player of the Year [in 1993] and became the first female to have a basketball sneaker manufactured (by Nike) under her autograph.

The things that made Sheryl Swoopes attractive to advertisers before she came out are still true today: Great athlete, respected by all in the game, star-power personality, and good looking to boot. I don’t know what kind of endorsements she’s doing these days, but I’ll be very interested to see if any companies drop her. She’s apparently added at least one new deal, a lesbian cruise line (whose name makes me chuckle), according to Women’s Hoops.

Mechelle Voepel has a long and thoughtful piece about what Swoopes’ announcement may mean for other, currently closeted, athletes and coaches. The whole thing is worth your time to read, but I found this at the end to be especially poignant:

[T]here is the question of how Swoopes’ story will be received in Lubbock, Texas, home of Texas Tech and some of the most loyal and knowledgeable women’s basketball fans in the world. It’s just as dumb to suggest that everyone in Lubbock has a problem with homosexuality as it is to say that everyone in New York City has no problem with it. However, Lubbock is a place one would describe as conservative, to use, admittedly, a stereotype.

Swoopes is a legend in Lubbock more than anywhere else; she brought the university national recognition and always will be one of the most important people in the school’s history. Texas Tech fans genuinely love her, though some will feel very conflicted about her story.

But I think most of them, even if they don’t understand or totally accept Swoopes’ story, are people who believe we should live and let live. They might still vote for any and all measures to ban gay marriage, but they’d give Swoopes a sincere hug if they saw her.

I’ve got no business turning Sheryl Swoopes into a rallying point for a political movement. I do hope, however, that a few of the people who love her for what she did for Texas Tech in 1993 will be thinking about her as they step into the voting booth next month.

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10 Responses to Sheryl Swoopes comes out

  1. PDiddie says:

    I wish she would make one other public statement: opposition to Prop. 2.

    Preferably in televison ads that break in West Texas markets.

  2. Sue says:

    Good for her for having the nerve to come out like that. It took a lot of courage and I’m sure it won’t be an easy road for her in some arenas for a little while.

  3. Hooray for a professional team sports player coming out of the closet! Hooray for anybody coming out of the closet! Hooray for doing it before November 8th. 😉

    Regarding your statement that “I’ve got no business turning Sheryl Swoopes into a rallying point for a political movement”: it’s inevitable that somebody’s coming out has a political effect when what you’ve described is exactly what Republicans (ok, mostly Republicans) have done to people like Sheryl and me — turned us into a rallying point for a hateful political movement.

  4. Tek_XX says:

    Always thought Sheryl Swoopes and lisa leslie were the straightest players in the WNBA but you never can tell these days.

    I’m not sure this going to be all that big of a deal in womens basketball, you’d have to be an idiot not to know there are many lesbians in the game. Now a current player in the NFL coming out is a different matter.

  5. William Hughes says:

    I view Sheryl Swoopes the same way I saw Martina Navratilova when she announced she was a lesbian. I didn’t care about what either of them do off of the basketball / tennis court since they can flat out play the game. I don’t think there will be much of a problem in the WNBA, but if she plays in Europe this winter (as many of the WNBA players do), I would be interested in knowing how people will react.

  6. Patrick says:

    To paraphrase Claude Raines’ Capt. Renault: Lesbians in the WNBA? I’m shocked, shocked to find that going on here.

    Hopefully this brave step by Swoopes will encourage others in all walks of life to “come out” like Jodie Foster, Britney Spears, Peyton and/or Eli Manning and Steve Radack.

    And while he’s likely not gay, I know several people who’ve seen The Shawshank Redemption and are secretly hoping Tom DeLay gets the complete “prison experience”.

  7. lady luck says:

    Sheryl used to by my biggest idol as a young girl being a basketball player and being straight. My parents dont like the fact that she is my idol so much anymore but she is still a good player

  8. JJACKSON says:

    I AM NOT SURPRISED, ITS HER PERSONAL BUSINESS AND I THINK IT SHOULD HAVE STAYED PERSONAL. I DON’T KNOW IF SHE THOUGHT SHE WAS SPECIAL OR THAT NO ONE KNEW. PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN, AND ITS REALLY FUNNY TO SEE HOW PEOPLE ARE REACTING NOW THAT IT HAS BEEN SAID. DON’T GET ME WRONG SHE HAS MAD GAME, AND I AM A FAN, HOWEVER HER PERSONAL LIFE NEEDS TO STAY HER PERSONAL LIFE. IT’S NOT THAT BIG A DEAL. NOBODY’S COMING OUT, “OOH LOOK I AM STRAIGHT!” BUT BEST OF LUCK TO HER IN HER NEW LIFE. I JUST HOPE SHE IS HAPPY, BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY THATS ALL PEOPLE LOOK FOR, HAPPINESS.

  9. Tanikka Robinson says:

    I think what sheryl Swoopes did was very brave and I look up to her more for it. Sheryl is the reason I Started playing basketball as a young girl, and she will continue to be my inspiration. I wish her the best of luck in all she does!!!

  10. i just love “sheryl swoopes”being black&gay was hard enough people treat you bad and torture.i’m so greatfull that she not only came out the closet but she is an rolemodel not just 4 the lesbian communtiy but,also 4 black womans who are gay.”gay is the way”.sheryl&alisa 4life”.

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