- Any professional athlete who gets on TV or radio and says he never played with a gay guy is a stone-freakin’ idiot. I would even say the same thing in college. Every college player, every pro player in any sport has probably played with a gay person. … I’ve been a big proponent of gay marriage for a long time, because as a black person, I can’t be in for any form of discrimination at all.
- Charles Barkley • The Hall-Of-Fame power forward speaking out about homosexuality in sports, in the wake of Phoenix Suns President and CEO Rick Welts coming out in an New York Times story over the weekend. Barkley’s comments are earnest and worthy of notice, especially in recent weeks that have seen sexual orientation become a focal point in the NBA. The impetus of it all, to some extent, was the very public stance the league took when Kobe Bryant hurled a slur at an official. Bryant received a stiff fine, and to his credit to some extent, he later partnered with a gay rights group for public education. Then, Phoenix Suns players Grant Hill and Jared Dudley shot a PSA denouncing the use of “gay” as a playground insult (a move that invariably and depressingly got them called “gay” a lot via Twitter). It was on this recent foundation that Welts came out. Courage like this brings us ever closer to a more enlightened society, so simply, thank you. source