Kevin Nash, one of wrestling's biggest stars (literally) over the last 15 years, talked with us about gays in wrestling. And what he had to say was among the most gay-positive things any athlete has ever said.

Kevin Nash: Straight Ally in Wrestling

Great Interview. Seems like a level-headed guy. I loved the fact he wouldn't mind a gay guy looking at him in the shower as long as the gay guy approved of what he saw. Great sense of humor.

Nash has always struck me as being even-tempered as well as quick-witted. I'm glad that OS did an interview with him. Wrestling is such a great environment, combining drama with sports. It's almost the perfect combination for me. I think I will have to start watching the NWA programming on Spike TV.

I refuse to believe that OS could ever be that hard-up for a story! Why guys,whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!

I am not a huge wrestling fan, but I am now a huge Kevin Nash fan! What a great guy and what a great interview!

A great interview indeed. Kevin Nash has always been one of the more respected guys in the business with his level headedness and working ability. He's a vocal supporter of aboriginal rights and now he's showing how welcoming he is to the gays and lesbians.

TNA Wrestling...great talent...now hopefully Nash can get on the writing team and come up with better storylines than they have now haha.

Big Sexy for sure!

Nothing sexier than a hot, open hearted hetero man

Doesn't surprise me a bit. Years ago on the fledgeling WB sitcom Nikki Kevin Nash played a gay version of himself, and appeared to have great fun with the role. (Dwight was jealously worried that the bigtime wrestler was wooing his wife Nikki; in actuality he was enthusiastically telling her about designing his action figure's pleather outfits himself.)

Pro wrestling is NOT A SPORT. It's nice that he's pro-gay, but he's NOT A SPORTS FIGURE.

Thank you,Joseph! My point exactly!!

Who said it was a sport? Pro Wrestling is SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT...but that doesn't take anything away from the athleticism from some of the bigger names in the industry.

Baby steps my friend, baby steps. Have you tried to make a list of the positive comments made by professional athletes? We gotta take em where we can get em. (And Kevin Nash is definitely an athlete.)

Oh yes,I'm sure Nash will have a profound effect on the average wrestling fan considering how sophisticated and enlightened they are.

Well Sir Eddie, if one young gay wrestling fan feels a little bit better about himself from the comments Kevin has made, wouldn't it be worth it?

Not necessarily,not if he's a gay "wrestling" fan. xox

Well when I was 16 I was a big pro wrestling fan and some of those guys made my young loins quiver. Ricky Steamboat, Tony Atlas, Kerry and Kevin Von Erich. If at 16 I read an interview from one of them like the one Kevin Nash gave to OS, I think it would have helped me to come out a lot sooner than 26.

I think if you had spent your time doing something more worthwhile you would have come out a lot sooner. Anway since I love you more than a Hot Fudge Cream Puff sundae,I'm going to shut up and behave myself.

I did do something more worthwhile...right after ever show.

I love you to bits too my little honey bunches of Oh's.

Though I have no interest whatsoever in pro wrestling I'll concede that it's a form of entertainment, and it may take athleticism. Cirque du Soleil is also entertaning and their performers display athleticism, but no one considers that to be a sport.

I'd say Cirque du Soleil is dramatized gymnastics and I'd call gymnastics a sport.

All right already, get a room!...And make sure to invite me.

If a well-known pro-wrestler (which takes a hella lot of athleticism) who is gay friendly wants to identify himself as an athlete, then he is an athlete...

Why should we be discriminatory against someone who doesn't discriminate against us?

Saying that pro wrestling is not a sport -- AND IT'S NOT -- is discrimination against someone??? That's one of the most absurd things I've ever read on this board -- and there's been so much absurdity.



Really? Then who was the winning "gymnast"?

If it's dramatized it's acting. It's staged performance. It's NOT sport.

Joe- Not sure if you are referring to my post or not- but I did not identify that pro-wrestling is a sport, but I did acknowledge that I believe these men and women are athletes and have the right to self-identify as an athlete. It takes a professional level of athleticism to create and perform that action- dramatized or not.

I don't think that is absurd at all to recognize them as athletes and to comment that those people who say they are not athletes are being discriminatory... I mean hell- anyone who plays pick-up basketball or is a weekend warrior golf or tennis player is an athlete... and because these guys are the elite and in a professional business, wouldn't it be reasonable to identify them as professional performers who do athletics- or- professional athlete.

Ones refusal to recognize them as athletes simply because they don't think what they do is not defined as a "sport" is discriminatory...

I mean- it's not a blasphemous form of discrimination, but why not just let him show the GLBT community love- without having to bitch about whether he is or is not an athlete. Hell, I will take GLBT support from the man running the corner store who only plays catch with his son...

Cyd and Jim- loved the article- thanks for taking the time to interview him and post it for our benefit.

Well the game that I went to the harlequin in the green and white spotted tights won. The sinewy red devil and the zebra-man couldn't even come close.

You are hilarious!

Joe, I've seen you around the boards for years. Sometimes I agree with you and sometimes I don't, but you usually make a coherent argument. It is ridiculous to say this guy is not an athlete. Regardless of whether you think pro wrestling is a sport, and I walk the line here too, you HAVE to be very athletic to pull off the staged performances they give. These guys train hard in the gym and in the ring to hone their skills enough to be able to perform at that elite level. They are very different from the kids in the backyard pretending to do the same thing.

Take a second to breathe and separate the distinction between sport and athlete. He, and all the men and women in pro-wrestling are athletes regardless of whether you think the performance is a sport.

In addition, his take on gays in his industry are completely relevant to this website in that he's a guy in a locker room saying it's okay if there's a gay guy in the locker room. Isn't that one of the biggest hang ups in the discussion of gays in sports?

Don't let your own disapproval of pro wrestling keep you from seeing the value here.

I AM NOT SAYING HE'S NOT AN ATHLETE. Why some of you are interpreting "pro wrestling is not a sport" as "Kevin Nash isn't an athlete" is beyond my comprehension.

Regardless, the fact remains that he is NOT famous for participating in a LEGITIMATE SPORT. He's famous for being in pro wrestling, which is entertainment. It's not a sporting event in any way. It's not one of the established major league sports. It's not college sports. It's not the Olympics. It's not NASCAR or horse racing. It's not even minor league sports like arena football or indoor soccer.

The article makes sense in a magazine or website devoted to pro wrestling, or in People magazine or some other entertainment-related outlet, or in a newspaper (but not in the sports section). It has no place on Outsports, except in the non-sports-related parts of the board. Any time an actor or singer comes out or speaks out, Cyd and Jim don't write articles about it. A pro wrestler fits in the same category.

I think this all about good PR more than anything else.Nash knows that there are a lot of gay wrestling fans so he's certainly not going to go out of his way to offend them at least not when being interviewed by a representative of a gay forum.I'm not saying he wasn't sincere but how would we ever really know?

Why is it so hard to accept someone saying positive things? There's a time and a place for cynicism but I really don't think it's here. Why would Kevin give an interview of this nature at all if he wasn't going to be forthright?

Methinks the Cat needs some lovin'.



Cyd...for JIP, start the interview with something like this next time...

From Wiki...

[Kevin] Nash attended Aquinas High School in Southgate, Michigan, and was placed on the varsity basketball team by coach Ron Gulyas in his freshman year. In his senior year of high school, Nash was the second most recruited player in Michigan behind Magic Johnson.

Maybe that would take the craw out of Joe's giddy-up.

Well,duh! Meow,baby.

Ummmm...no.

What is better than Professional Wrestling. You get to work out and get a buff body, wear outrageous costumes, indulge in lots of bad acting and GET PAID FOR IT. Most wrestlers are retired jocks from various sports. Would you rather see them working at a gas station as a mechanic or at McDonalds ??? Not all retired jocks can teach sports.
I think Kevin Nash is very talented and seems to be a wonderful example of a modern man.