12/07/2006
Website Claims NBA to be "Rocked" by a Gay New Jersey Net
Website MediaTakeOut claims that a player who frequently hangs with model Tyson Beckford recently shocked his family with the confession that he's gay:
MediaTakeOut: "And what's more shocking, tells our source, is that the NBA player has entered into a romantic relationship with one of his childhood friends. The tipster explains, 'the two boys were friends since childhood ... when [the player] went to the NBA, he brought along [the friend] as a personal assistant.' The tipster added, 'I don't know how to feel, I love them both but something doesn't seem right about them being together like that.'
And the source tells MediaTakeOut.com that the NBA star's relationship with his former pal appears to be serious. The source explains, '[the player] could have kept it quiet and nobody would have suspected. He came out because he wanted us to accept his relationship.' The source added, 'those two have been friends for many years .. if their relationship is anything like their friendship, its got to be serious.'
At this point, there's little to back it up, but MediaTakeOut promises that "the NBA is about to be rocked" by the news. We'll see.
NBA Player Comes Out of the Closet [mediatakeout] (via deadspin)
Posted 2:42 PM EST by Andy Towle in Basketball, I'm Gay, New Jersey, News, Sports | Permalink
Like it?
Subscribe to FREE Towleroad daily headlines with our RSS feed!
RECENT STORIES:
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
Richard Jefferson
Posted by: Mike | Dec 7, 2006 2:47:54 PM
Well, 2006 is going down in history, isn't it.
Mike: How do you know?
Posted by: Anon | Dec 7, 2006 2:58:49 PM
No way, is it Jefferson? He is a very good player, wow.
Posted by: gay is the new straight | Dec 7, 2006 3:01:19 PM
"Richard Jefferson"
If the story is true that would be my bet as well. He's a hottie though the public coming out part seems unlikely.
Posted by: Giovanni | Dec 7, 2006 3:02:10 PM
Interesting if true.
If he weren't married with kidds [sic] I would have prayed for it to be Jason Kidd. I've had the hots for him for years.
Posted by: Zeke | Dec 7, 2006 3:02:42 PM
When I first read this, I somehow managed to skip the meat of the initial sentence when my eyes honed in on the name Tyson Beckford. If you read it the way I wish it was truly worded, "...model Tyson Beckford recently shocked his family with the confession that he's gay:"
OH DEAR GOD YES!
Alas.
Posted by: Matt R | Dec 7, 2006 3:07:09 PM
Read the article at MediaTakeOut. Assistant is his friend? Friends with Tyson? Likes the white women?
Posted by: Mike | Dec 7, 2006 3:08:01 PM
Googling for "Richard Jefferson Tyson Beckford" brought up a message board post about Nick Carter which included this portion:
"The lovebirds, however, made up and walked back into P. Diddy's after-party, which was attended by Diddy's mom, Janice Combs, boxing heavyweight Lennox Lewis, singer Ashanti, actor LL Cool J, model Lauren Hutton, designer Zac Posen, model Tyson Beckford and the Nets' Richard Jefferson."
http://forums.hollywood.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2796089/m/644103571
At the very least shows that they attend the same parties. There may be some truth behind this assumption.
Posted by: Matt R | Dec 7, 2006 3:13:14 PM
Hasn't Wendy Williams been claiming for years that Tyson is gay?
Posted by: jmg | Dec 7, 2006 3:14:23 PM
And read this old quote from him...
The locker-room truth, as told by Richard Jefferson of the New Jersey Nets, is that athletes shower and dress in communal spaces and that many would feel uneasy about doing so in front of a gay teammate.
The first openly gay male athlete will have to be a respected superstar, Jefferson said, likening it to Magic Johnson announcing that he had contracted the virus that causes AIDS. If there's an athlete thinking about coming out, Jefferson offered this how-to:
"You would have to approach your teammates and be like, 'Look, this is who I am. I don't like any of you. I'm not trying to pick up on any of you,' " he said. "Would it make people feel uncomfortable? Of course it would."
http://www.gaypasg.org/GayPASG/PressClippings/2005/Nov/Male%20Athletes%20Aren't%20Ready%20for%20Gay%20Teammates.htm
Posted by: gay is the new straight | Dec 7, 2006 3:16:22 PM
it'd be better for everyone if we all treated this as a none issue, but we are probably not at that point yet.
Posted by: Tim | Dec 7, 2006 3:42:42 PM
thanks god he's black, what with the Baptist tsuris that's ongoing
Posted by: Hadassah | Dec 7, 2006 3:46:41 PM
...just waiting for the "retirement announcment" to come out. Then you KNOW it's true.
Posted by: Rad | Dec 7, 2006 4:00:23 PM
I'm not sure I care for the wording in the original article on MediaTakeOut.com: "one of the biggest scandals in league history." I not sure if "scandal" is the most appropriate term to describe a coming out.
Posted by: Mike | Dec 7, 2006 4:08:04 PM
...consider the source. MediaTakeOut is hardly one to rest a reputation on.
Posted by: midnight lounge | Dec 7, 2006 4:14:40 PM
Mike, I totally agree except I would take it a step further and say: I'm absolutely positive that I don't care for the wording and I'm certain that "scandal" was an inappropriate word.
It's kind of like when people say, "So and so was ACCUSED of being gay."
Posted by: Zeke | Dec 7, 2006 7:13:51 PM
No way, is it Jefferson? He is a very good player, wow.
Posted by: gay is the new straight | Dec 7, 2006 3:01:19 PM
Um, so it's shocking for a gay man to be a good player? o_O
Posted by: anon | Dec 7, 2006 9:33:08 PM
Vince Carter?
Are you kidding me?
Posted by: Homer | Dec 7, 2006 10:54:25 PM
OK I know the "gay mafia" has sacrificing infants probably in their quest to out someone in the NFL, NBA, Baseball currently playing and the blacker the better.
I remember the Mike Piazza shit with the gay rag that published that someone's hookup was a notoriously single baseball player. I remember the NFL rumor a couple years ago too.
This is the last straw. If this gets press and goes nowhere Andy you should be ashamed of what can be easily called blanket slander. I just almost think that the real prize sometimes to be had is just to get all the players shamed expressing the views that 90% of americans have on gay sexuality but deny and all of america pretends to care for about 1 month.
What is this? Are we setting fire to everything and seeing how many gays scamper out?
And then we all wonder why Anderson Cooper hides in plain sight.
Posted by: NOT FOR YOU | Dec 8, 2006 2:51:11 AM
Well said NOT FOR YOU!!
Posted by: Brett | Dec 8, 2006 5:19:04 AM
Could be a Knicks fan post.
Posted by: George | Dec 8, 2006 6:13:03 AM
Doesn't this rank right up there as a big "so what"?? I am getting seriously sick and tired of the whole "is he or isn't he" game...who gives a royal flying shit if someone is gay, straight, or has sex with little Martian men? This is almost 2007 and here we are on a witch hunt to ferret out those that we think are different, and are a threat to our way of life - leave them alone I say, and let these guys live their lives the same way we want to - without having to answer a lot of stupid questions about what you do in the bedroom.
Posted by: JdEB | Dec 8, 2006 6:23:57 AM
JDEB,
In a perfect world, it would be so what. And I agree that witch hunts are uncalled for. But the reason so many here are excited to speculate is because a major American athlete coming out while still on the team would be HUGE. American sports are notoriously homophobic as is most of its fanbase.
While I agree that "yanking" people out of the closet may not be the best approach, you cannot deny us our hope that an athlete will make the bold step to be honest with the public and be an example for other gay men and women who are playing sports.
Yes, it's a very big deal, even in 2007.
Posted by: mark m | Dec 8, 2006 8:39:17 AM
And I'm getting tired of proponents of the closet saying that privacy comes down to "what is done in the bedroom."
That plays into the misconception that gays are defined by the sexual act they perform. Coming out is saying this is who I love, not who I f#ck.
When straights announce their engagements, are seen publicly holding hands, or the rags gossip about which model Athlete du jour is dating.... is the focus "what they do in the bedroom?"
Posted by: mark m | Dec 8, 2006 8:43:02 AM
I'm not sure what to make of this. But an openly bi NBA player, why nott? Sheryl Swoopes of the WBNA's Houston Coments came out a year ago.
Posted by: Karim | Dec 8, 2006 9:09:54 AM