WNBA MVP and Houston Comets foward Sheryl Swoopes today announced: "I'm black, I'm proud, and I like snatch.":
From today's NY Times:
Houston Comets forward Sheryl Swoopes is opening up about being a lesbian, telling a magazine that she's ''tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about.''
Swoopes, honored last month as the WNBA's Most Valuable Player, told ESPN The Magazine for a story on newsstands Wednesday that she didn't always know she was gay and fears that coming out could jeopardize her status as a role model.
No worries Sheryl - I don't know if you know this, but lesbians are this season's new black. (Gay men being like, soooo last week.)
[Flip for more hot girl action.]
''Do I think I was born this way? No,'' Swoopes said. ''And that's probably confusing to some, because I know a lot of people believe that you are.''
Swoopes, who was married and has an 8-year-old son, said her 1999 divorce ''wasn't because I'm gay.''
She said her reason for coming out now is merely because she wants to be honest.
You tell 'em Sheryl. Who gives a squat when or why someone has chosen to sleep or fall in love with a particular person? Its nobodies beeswax but yours.
She said her biggest worry about her revelation is that people will be afraid to look up to her.
''I don't want that to happen,'' she said. ''Being gay has nothing to do with the three gold medals or the three MVPs or the four championships I've won. I'm still the same person. I'm Sheryl.''
Sheryl, I think all you have to worry about now is if you can fit in a guest appearance on Showtime's "The L Word" during the WNBA season. (If Arianna is gonna have a guest appearance, you sure can.)
She said it ''irritates'' her that no one talks about gays playing in men's sports, but that it's become an issue in the WNBA.
''Sexuality and gender don't change anyone's performance on the court,'' she said. ''Women play just as hard as guys do. We're just as competitive.''
Martina N. say hi.
(For those offended by certain levels of crassness, I offer no apologies. Of the various contributions of gay culture to "mainstream" culture, one of them is the healthiness of having a sense of humor (even bawdy) about sex and sexuality. Well, that and learning how to pronounce taupe.)
P.S. If its not completely apparent, I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically applaud Ms. Swoopes coming out so publically. The more entertainers (athletes, actors, singers, etc.) that do so, the better off we are as a society. (Tom Cruise, I'm looking at you!)