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'Man In The
Middle' deserves praise
By
Cyd Zeigler jr.
I had been
waiting for over a year to read
John Amaechi's book,
"Man In The Middle". My expectations had been rising for 52 weeks
and I was anticipating a juicy gay tell-all book with some
basketball thrown in. I got all that and then some.
"Man in the
Middle" is a gripping tale of one man's difficult struggle
to stay afloat in a sports league an ocean away from his
home. While many top pro-sports stars, who coasted with a
safety net most of their careers, have written best-sellers
with tips on how to get to the pinnacle of sports, Amaechi
and co-author Chris Bull have crafted a roller-coaster story
of struggle that goes much deeper than simply being a gay
man in the NBA.
The book is
unmistakably the story of John Amaechi. It begins with his
childhood, following his mother as a toddler back to England
from his Boston birthplace to escape his father. Maybe most
importantly, the book gives great insight into Amaechi's
deep-seated dedication to helping kids. As an overweight,
6-foot-10 black man in England, he stood out like a Boston
Celtics fan in L.A. in the '80s; And he was ridiculed as
such, with merciless kids referring to him as the "whale."
It was
basketball that offered him a community of people who looked
more like him, and where he first felt true acceptance. He
only had an inkling at the time of his sexual orientation,
and had no idea what lay ahead of him in what would be the
greatest basketball career for a Brit ever.
The road to
that career was up-and-down. While he was never suicidal, he
faced two accidents that nearly ended his quest and his
life. He felt the anguish of draft day, the thrill of making
NBA history in his first start, and the crush of missed
opportunities.
All the
while, he was suppressing his sexual orientation that he
knew, until he finally got a guaranteed contract with the
Utah Jazz, could cost him his hopes and millions of dollars.
While it is
not a political book by any stretch, Amaechi doesn't shy
away from taking occasional strong stands, particularly when
it comes to gay rights.
"Political
conservatives," he wrote, "tend to define gay people as
'immoral,' 'perverted,' and 'promiscuous,' yet they deny
them the one institution that to them represents the
opposite. It's a handy catch-22 with which to bind a whole
group of people to second-class citizenship."
He also
sheds light on the "gayness" of professional athletes:
"The pro
locker room was the most flamboyant place I'd ever been this
side of a swanky club full of martini-drinking gay men.
Chris' [Mills] alligator shoes were the least of it. The
guys flaunted their perfect bodies. They bragged of their
sexual exploits. They checked out each other's cocks. They
primped in front of the mirror, applying cologne and hair
gel by the bucketful."
Upon
finishing the book, my impression of Amaechi had gone from
"NBA journeyman" to "dedicated humanitarian, deserving of
all the praise he gets." There aren't many professional
athletes who would turn down a $17-million contract offer
from a contender to stay with an also-ran so he wouldn't
disappoint some teenagers he had taken under his wing.
"Man in the
Middle" is one of the smartest, most fulfilling sports books
I've read. From what I can tell, it comes from a smart man
leading a very fulfilling life.
Related:
Pre-order "Man In The Middle"
List of
out athletes
Baseball: Billy Bean, hitting a home run for my lover
Football: Gay former player addresses rookies
Football: Dave Kopay, still fighting the good fight
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