Los Angeles, October
30, 2007 —To mark the beginning of the
2007-08 professional basketball season, the Gay & Lesbian
Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) today premiered a 20-second
public service announcement (PSA) featuring retired NBA player
John Amaechi. This is the fifth installment of GLAAD's
new public education campaign that encourages viewers to "Be
an Ally & a Friend."
Amaechi made
history in February 2007 when he became the first former NBA
player to come out publicly. Over a six-year period, Amaechi
played for the
Cleveland Cavaliers,
Orlando Magic and
Utah Jazz. In his New York Times bestselling
autobiography, Man in the Middle, he describes his
journey from being an overweight kid in England to a revered
Penn State Basketball player to his years playing professional
basketball—all while discovering his sexuality and being a
closeted gay man.
"John has experienced firsthand how homophobia in the sports
world can prevent athletes from living their lives honestly and
openly," says GLAAD Director of Sports Media Ted Rybka. "John’s
message has the power to awaken people to the realities of what
it’s like to be a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender
athlete."
GLAAD's "Be an Ally & a Friend" PSA campaign features 22 public
figures from television, film and sports. The spots encourage
people to be allies to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
people and to help combat homophobia, directing viewers to
resources at GLAAD.org.
GLAAD is releasing a new 20- or 30-second version of the PSA
approximately every two weeks to be aired through broadcast
collaborations with Access Hollywood, national cable
networks such as
Fox Reality, GSN, IFC, Lifetime, The N, Sci Fi Channel
and
Sundance Channel; local cable systems and network
affiliates; online at LiveVideo,
YouTube, AOL Video and
MySpace; and others to be announced.
