2 basketball players make me wonder.....

Chris Mihm of the Cleveland Cavaliers?
I have never heard anything about his social life, but he's been referred to as "soft"?

Kris Lang of the UNC Tarheels?
He has been made fun as gay on local boards, but I don't know if there is a reason for it.

I think these two guys are really hot. Based on what little I know and have seen, they both seem like they might be gay, even though thats hardly anything to go on.

Its just a hunch, but does anyone else think the same?

I like speculating about possbily gay athletes, but since I'm kinda new to the board, I do not want to do anything inappropriate or offensive, so please let me know if this topic is OK?

Thanks to everyone who helps to make this site and board such a great place!

[quote]Originally posted by Giantssoxfan:
Chris Mihm of the Cleveland Cavaliers?
I have never heard anything about his social life, but he's been referred to as "soft"?

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In the playground style of basketball that most NBA players are used to, anyone who doesn't thro sufficient elbows and speak rudely about women is considered "soft." And I suspect a normal social life ain't easy for a 7 footer.

I was glad to see John Lucas is still around (as coach of the cavs.) I thought he'd disappeared from the game for a while. There were "rumors" about him for a while when he was at U. of Maryland about the same time I was. I think it's an occupational hazard for the famous and near-famous.

An interesting piece of gossip from a column in this week's edition of the Philadelphia CityPaper, regarding the NBA All-Star game parties here....

[quote]Then there’s the story of a handful of NBA players and managers who I hear showed up swishily to several gay clubs along 13th Street (Woody’s, 2-4) tipping short-short-wearing dancers, um, handsomely. Yes, heteros go to gay clubs. ( I certainly do.) But never to slam-dunk the way these ballers did to a dancer I know. More soon?...

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Does it really matter which athlete is gay or not? Frankly, it's the furthest thing from my mind when I watch the game.

I hope we don't turn into a bunch of "Out" editors now....

Joe, I'm looking for that CityPaper article tomorrow (today actually since it's after midnight)! I've been to a club an average of about once a year for the past decade so I've obviously been missing something.

There's not much more beyond what I quoted. The column itself has all kinds of information about people I've never heard of. The only other NBA party information in the column had to do with P. Diddy and the fraud pretending to be Stevie Wonder.

But now I'm sorry I didn't go out that weekend.

Link to full column

"I hope we don't turn into a bunch of "Out" editors now"--Trojan110

Oh, I don't know. If that means we all get baseball player boyfriends, I'm all for it!

[quote]Revealed: NBA Weekend’s All-Stars. Some were cheap, some were gay, some were liars. Rumor has it
P. Diddy stiffed Egypt for nearly $6,000, buying up shots and champagnes without paying or tipping, all
the while flashing wads o’ cash from atop the bar. Then there was the Stevie Wonder impersonator
(O.J. in a weave-wig?) calling several restaubars, alerting them to his oncoming visit. (Hey, the woman
running the Converse party believed it!) Then there’s the story of a handful of NBA players and
managers who I hear showed up swishily to several gay clubs along 13th Street (Woody’s, 2-4) tipping
short-short-wearing dancers, um, handsomely. Yes, heteros go to gay clubs. ( I certainly do.) But never
to slam-dunk the way these ballers did to a dancer I know. More soon?…

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In context it seems like a lot of nonsense was happening, none of it very serious. Could have been a big joke for them. They can always use the usual copout that they were stoned at the time. That was my excuse when I woke up with a woman.

I'ts interesting that with all the talk of breaking down stereotypes gay people still cling to the notion of gay equals weakness when trying to "out" someone. This probably says more about the "outer" than the potential "outee".

I was reading a forum somewhere talking about if people would support a gay baseball player. Different people wrote what their opinions were and I found this straight guy's answer to be very intersting.


[quote] First question: If you knew a woman who was pregnant, (who had eight kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded) and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Question No. 2: It is time to elect a new world leader, and your vote counts. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates:

Candidate A: Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologists. He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks eight to 10 martinis a day.

Candidate B: He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn't had any extramarital affairs.

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt
Candidate B is Winston Churchill
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler

And by the way: Answer to the abortion question if you said yes, you have just killed Beethoven.

Give me 50 home runs a year, .320 average, and 120 RBI and I don't care if you make skirts or wear one. And if you hit .220, the bus to the minors is leaving soon. If you can play, you can stay.

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http://espn.go.com/page2/s/letters/010524g...gayplayers.html

I think that the world may be comming around. The other question that they asked was if people would wear their jersy after they came out. That one was a sticking point. I would love to have a jersey from an openly gay player personally.

[ March 06, 2002: Message edited by: MSUBobcat ]

I thought it was interesting that 75% of the participants in that espn.com poll said they would support an openly gay player....although some of the views expressed in the published letters were disturbing, if not surprising, hopefully if these statistics are true this is a good sign that the youth of today appear to be far more open minded in general than the older generations....like MSUBobcat, I would not hesitate to wear the jersey of an openly gay athlete as long as he didn't act like a complete jerk on the field (i.e., Randy Moss, Roger Clemens, etc.)....I hope that day will come sooner rather than later although I tend to think we will have to see an openly gay "star" college player first who is so talented and athletic that the pros cannot help but make him a top draft pick (too bad that stud David Carr isn't gay but that's another topic altogether I suppose).

I think fans would support a gay athlete in many sports, but it would depend upon where he played and the fan base. For example, I think an openly gay baseball player might have an easier time if he lived and played in SF, let's say, or LA or Florida (Miami), than in Cincinnati. But an out gay player would still take hell from teammates and opposing players and fans.

Wasn't the hockey player Ron Duguay out(ed) years ago? And he played hockey withOUT a helmet. Then again, some of the Black hockey players still have to deal with racial epithets, so it wouldn't be all that rosy--but I think hockey might be the easiest, and the NFL and NBA the toughest. MLB is probably right in the middle, though the owners would probably be as if not more homophobic than many fans.

BTW, there are more than a few NBA players who set off major gaydar....