Sports still waiting for active gay player

Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2007 -

A pro athlete who waits until his career is over to declare he's gay, the way John Amaechi just did in a new book, is yesterday's news.

He has something to sell, little to lose and does less to advance the cause he's fighting for - helping sports get over its homophobia - than he might have. There's no dishonor in that. It's what happens when you work within the system: you spark debate, maybe change some minds over the long haul and pick up a few bucks for baring your pain.

So no disrespect to John Amaechi.

But it's been done before.

Homosexuality has been one of sports' little morality plays since the ancient Greeks made contests of running, jumping and boxing, then gossiped about them afterward. Long and loud as the discussion has been at times, nobody from any of the big team sports has gone on the record while still playing the game. Not much will change until he does.

But you better find a seat. Something tells me the final act of ``Waiting for Gaydot,'' could start any minute.

``It's a shame all gay people can't turn green for just one day, so everybody's jaw would drop, and then maybe we could move past a lot of this stuff,'' said Jim Buzinski, co-founder of Outsports.com. ``Until then, we'll take another small step forward. It's always a positive, and I applaud John for what he did. In terms of encouraging others, everybody knows their own circumstances and deals with it. ...

``I think the fears are overblown,'' he added, ``but until the first person comes out, we won't really know.''

No.

Even so, it's getting easier to make an educated guess. It's difficult to imagine too many owners balking at the idea of an openly gay athlete on their team, unlike Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier, back in the day. Most, in fact, would line up with their wallets out for the opportunity to market him.

Though his players weren't uniformly enthusiastic, commissioner David Stern said about Amaechi's book: ``We have a very diverse league. The question at the NBA is always 'Have you got game?' That's it, end of inquiry.''

A call to NFL headquarters produced a similar response. ``Society is more open and tolerant than it's ever been. I don't think anybody would care,'' spokesman Greg Aiello said, ``other than how he was performing.''

Last June, the NFL flew in former defensive lineman Esera Tuaolo - who like Amaechi came out after retiring - to speak to the incoming rookie class about sexual orientation. That was after Tuaolo talked to the league staff about the same topic in New York a few months earlier.

Considering how little the NFL likes being surprised, Aiello was asked whether he could imagine a football player coming out any time soon. ``I'm sure it will happen someday,'' he said. ``I don't see why not.''

You could have come up with a thousand reasons why as recently as four years ago, when an online and print rumor campaign prompted Mike Piazza, who was playing for the Mets at the time, to deny he was gay.

Almost everybody still was fleeing the stigma attached, convinced it could spell the end of a career. Even former major leaguer Billy Bean - who, like Amaechi, waited until he retired to come out - was convinced it would take a player as special as Jackie Robinson in every way to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.

The bar is considerably lower now. There are more teammates, coaches, sponsors, lawyers, security guards and even fans willing to stand alongside him than Robinson dared dream of.

To be sure, as Amaechi's book will make clear, there's still some resistance at every level. A player as special as LeBron James said there's issues of trust to be resolved, and he still doubted an openly gay person could survive in the league.

``I don't think so,'' James said.

But he's in the minority. Thousands of ball players have worked, traveled, showered and dressed in the same locker room together for more than a century. Most understand now it's a numbers game, although something then-Phillies manager Larry Bowa said about numbers during the Piazza episode still applies.

``All I know,'' Bowa said, ``is that if he hits .340, it probably would be easier than if he hits .220.''

---

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitkeap.org

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Will Ohio State continue to run the table in College Football betting odds?
MySportsbook.com favors Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Golden Bears in this weekend's big games.

NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 21 - My Sportsbook NCAA football fans: things are beginning to get really interesting on college football's national stage. Following last weekend's "Separation Saturday", which included five teams ranked in the top 15 dropping games, the BCS Championship picture is beginning to take shape - with Ohio State leading the charge. And, according to odds makers at MySportsbook.com, the number-one-ranked Buckeyes will continue their winning ways this weekend.

Revenge will be the name of the game in Columbus this Saturday, as Ohio State looks to even the score following last season's loss to Joe Paterno's Nittany Lions. Although Penn State are listed as 16.5 point underdogs, they are 11-10 all-time versus the Buckeyes. Paterno and the Lions, however, will have to shut down Heisman Trophy favorite Troy Smith who has thrown for 769 yards and seven touchdowns this season.

Speaking of revenge, Notre Dame will be out for some against Michigan State, following last year's 44 - 41 overtime loss to the Spartans in South Bend. The thirteenth-ranked Irish, listed as a 3-point favorite, will also be looking to avenge last Saturday's thrashing from the Michigan Wolverines. The Spartans, meanwhile, have won seven of the last nine match-ups against Notre Dame and are coming off an impressive 38-23 victory over Pittsburgh.

Out west, 22nd-ranked Arizona State will be battling for their first victory over 21st-ranked California since 2000. Although the Golden Bears are listed as 7.5-point favorites, the Sun Devils are 3-0, lead the nation in sacks with 18 and possess the Pac-10's leading passer in sophomore quarterback Rudy Carpenter.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.

NCAA Football betting lines (home team in CAPS)
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Date Favorite Opponent Point Spread
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Sept 21 GEORGIA TECH Virginia 17
Sept 22 NEVADA Northwestern 6.5
Sept 23 MICHIGAN Wisconsin 14
Sept 23 Minnesota PURDUE 3
Sept 23 SYRACUSE Miami (Ohio) 6.5
Sept 23 MISSOURI Ohio 21.5
Sept 23 Louisville KANSAS STATE 14
Sept 23 TENNESSEE Marshall 22
Sept 23 CLEMSON North Carolina 16.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA Kentucky 24
Sept 23 Iowa ILLINOIS 20.5
Sept 23 FLORIDA STATE Rice 30.5
Sept 23 AUBURN Buffalo 41.5
Sept 23 BOWLING GREEN Kent 7
Sept 23 NAVY Tulsa 4.5
Sept 23 VIRGINIA TECH Cincinnati 27
Sept 23 BYU Utah State 29
Sept 23 OHIO STATE Penn State 16.5
Sept 23 TEXAS Iowa State 25
Sept 23 Washington State STANFORD 10
Sept 23 CALIFORNIA Arizona State 7.5
Sept 23 UCLA WASHINGTON 3
Sept 23 INDIANA Connecticut 1.5
Sept 23 Central Michigan EASTERN MICHIGAN 4
Sept 23 WYOMING Air Force 1
Sept 23 UTEP NEW MEXICO 9.5
Sept 23 West Virginia EAST CAROLINA 21
Sept 23 Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE 7
Sept 23 GEORGIA Colorado 27
Sept 23 ARKANSAS Alabama 1.5
Sept 23 BAYLOR Army 11
Sept 23 WESTERN MICHIGAN Temple 28
Sept 23 MISSISSIPPI Wake Forest 2.5
Sept 23 KANSAS South Florida 5.5
Sept 23 TEXAS A&amp;M Louisiana Tech 23.5
Sept 23 UAB Mississippi State 9.5
Sept 23 LSU Tulane 36
Sept 23 Utah SAN DIEGO STATE 6.5
Sept 23 BOISE STATE Hawaii 15
Sept 23 Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE 3
Sept 23 USC ARIZONA U 22
Sept 23 Oklahoma State HOUSTON 1
Sept 23 OREGON STATE Idaho 23
Sept 23 OKLAHOMA Middle Tennessee State 29
Sept 23 MARYLAND Florida International 18.5
Sept 23 AKRON North Texas 17.5
Sept 23 SOUTH CAROLINA Florida Atlantic 29.5
Sept 23 NEBRASKA Troy 23
Sept 23 SMU Arkansas State 6

For complete NCAA football odds and World Series odds please visit MySportsbook.com