John Amaechi Hosts Presentation Co-Sponsored by Athletics Department
10/3/2007 12:00:00 AM | General
NEW YORK -- Former NBA player and author of "Man in the Middle," John Amaechi was the featured guest in a reception to kick off Queer Awareness Month at Columbia.
Amaechi, who publicly announced he was gay last February, opened his talk by speaking briefly about comments by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In his speech last week at Columbia, Ahmadinejad claimed there were no homosexuals in Iran.
In a response to a question about negative reaction to his disclosure about his sexuality, Amaechi recalled several emails from youngsters playing sports across Europe and Asia who did not want to continue playing due to anxiety about similar reactions from teammates and classmates.
Amaechi responded that he tries to convince those young people that those negative reactions come from a small minority. But Amaechi also revealed the inherent difficulty in that argument when the large majority are silent about their feelings and do not speak up to bigoted remarks from that minority.
The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education was one of several co-sponsors of the event, along with the CC/SEAS Office of Multicultural Affairs, College Activities Office at Barnard, Office of Government and Community Affairs, Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Office of the Vice Provost for Diversity Initiatives, Black Students Organization, Proud Colors, Columbia Mentoring Initiative/Alumni of Color Outreach Program, University Development and Alumni Relations and Columbia Pride.
