Gay former b-baller John Amaechi's on a new mission.

The Briton will travel to China this summer as Amnesty International's sports ambassador. And, knowing that many people oppose China's questionable human rights policies, or lack thereof, Amaechi's instructing athletes to join the debate:

People who have issues with the policies and behavior of the Chinese authorities should speak out.

I would encourage athletes not to distract themselves by burying themselves in the facts and figures and legislation of China but simply to acknowledge that being an ambassador for human rights in China is the most Olympian thing to do. Anything less than that is not being a true Olympian no matter the color of the medal that you hold up.

To those of you who don't win medals - feel free to keep a lid on it.

We can thank Sir Ian McKellen for former b-baller John Amaechi's groundbreaking coming out. Amaechi, also known as our forever crush, recently told Pink News:

I nearly just decided not to ever go back to America and just stay here and say "let them froth around in their own mess," but I went to Manchester Pride and Sir Ian McKellen was the Marshal … I'm not very fluffy with these things and I'm quite cynical.

However, the sight of him waving and looking at the reactions of people to him waving, the sight in people's eyes of 'That's Gandalf, international superstar.'

I thought, obviously I am not anything like that status of superstar or even celebrity, but if on a smaller scale I could have an impact that would be a good thing.

We're going to go out on a limb here and say the gamble paid off.

Gay folk are always calling for "straight" athletes to come out of the closet. Though rare, a few athletes have come out, like John Amaechi. Amaechi, however, followed a common path: revealing his true identity only after reaching retirement.

Yeah, it would be super if some quarterback or short stop or whatever came out as a cocksucker, but ESPN's LZ Granderson doesn't think you should hold your breath:

Many of us are so obsessed with closeted athletes and their possible effect on sports that we ignore the gay athletes who are already out and creating change.

Too quickly we dismiss the thousands of openly gay men and women who participate in rec leagues…every weekend, interacting with folks who may not have been around gay people before.

It seems to us that gay folk pay these jocko-homos no mind because they don't fulfill the straight-worshiping some find integral to their love of sports. We know plenty of people who want only the fantasy, not the fag.

This isn't true for all gay sports fans, but we've encountered more than a couple. And, quite frankly, it's depressing.

Bent b-baller John Amaechi's taking a trip to Nashville this weekend.

The gay former Orlando Magic player will participate in the NCAA's diversity conference, specifically a session called "Time Out! A Conversation About Including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Student-Athletes”. Sounds like quite the time.

The session will address homophobia and the Association’s commitment to an inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes and career opportunities for coaches and administrators.
…
Jaime Fluker, NCAA assistant director of diversity and inclusion, said people walk away from the diversity education sessions realizing that they “didn’t know what they thought they knew” about sexual orientation.

Lesson one: homos can shoot hoops.

Bravo to Salon! While People magazine shines a light on the over-hyped "sexy man" Matt Damon, the website used their "Sexiest Men" to feature some less conventional celebrities. Sure, Damon makes an appearance, but he hardly comes out on top. That honor goes to Mad Men's uber-handsome Jon Hamm. Hamm's all well and good, but we're especially excited by the inclusion of gay former b-baller John Amaechi, a man the journo Thomas Rogers describes thus:

For those of us with distaste for the machismo and egocentrism that often accompany professional sports, and, despite that, a predilection for tall athletes in shorts, Amaechi's self-deprecation is beyond refreshing — it's hot. Combine that with a British accent, a sharp sense of humor, a delightfully screwy dental structure, and a history of vocal opposition to the National Rifle Association, and you've got my vote for the gay male heartthrob of the year.
…
Professional basketball doesn't just need more openly gay players. It needs more John Amaechis. And so do we.

Yes, it would be nice if there were more Amaechis in the world, but then it would drive down the value of the original. No one wants that.

[We erroneously credited this scintillating list to Slate, when it actually comes from Salon. Sorry, Salon. You're our number one sexiest website. Next to ourselves, of course.]

Airline endorsed magazines aren't the gold standard for journalism. We know this, but, for some dumb reason, we expect them to at least pretend to be interested in journalistic integrity. Sadly, American Airlines' American Way is not. Their "interview" with out B-Baller John Amaechi reads like an infomercial. And a cheaply done one, at that.

Most of the questions revolve around Amaechi's American Airline experience and how he spends his layovers in their "Admirals Club". It's understandable a free airline rag would sink to such lows, but we're disappointed in Amaechi for such a bold endorsement. Now, before you start defending the 36-year old jock, check out his "final thoughts":

After I came out as an openly gay athlee, my book generated 300 interviews in 25 American cities in just over three months. What made that grueling pace bearable was the wonderful AA staff on the ground and in the air… Thank you, American Airlines!

Amaechi's not entirely loyal to American Airlines. The Brit recently appeared at a Virgin America event.

Lance Bass isn't the only famous gay with a new friend. A "reliable" source tells Bay Windows that former basketballer John Amaechi recently spent some time with actor Ronnie Kerr:

One of our more reliable sources spotted former NBA star John Amaechi at Sidetrack, a gay bar in Chicago. This in itself is not gossip worthy — after all, Amaechi is out. However, he was seen canoodling with actor Ronnie Kerr (who is not out). Kerr is the hottie you may recognize from the Lifetime series Merge — he’s the cute carpenter. Apparently, Ronnie and John were spotted making out and preparing to “merge” at the end of the night…

Master says Kerr's not out, but he played the titular gay character in Regarding Billy. He will also be appearing on Outlicious TV's flab2Fab, which sounds pretty fucking gay to us.

Since coming out, former pro b-baller John Amaechi finds that his sexuality's trumped his other personal traits, especially in America:

In Britain I think they find it easier to take it all in. Here in the US they say, 'He's black and English and a basketball player and clever and gay …' It's all a bit overwhelming. They can only deal with one thing at a time and that one thing now is the gay bit. It's disappointing, because you spend all that time studying, researching, training, and after all that work I'm just that 'big gay bloke'."

Oh, Johnny, we think you're more than just some "big gay bloke". You're a big gay dreamboat bloke.

CONTINUED »

• The literal torture of being gay in Iran.

• John Amaechi is a gay pride whore.

• Gay Shame activist on pride: "Queer folks exist because of a legacy of direct action activism. However, the gay mainstream is actively working to 'clean up' all forms of queerness that do not fit into the white, upper class, married, heathery dream."

• More on "hate crime" victim Aaron Hall.

• Developers are closing in on Lake Cuomo, Italy, where George Clooney keeps a home. Naturally he thinks it's all about him: "I don’t want my presence here to be a pain to the other citizens, but if you ask me these proposals are in every probability just to exploit the fact that I live here."

CONTINUED »

• John Amaechi has signed on to lead Salt Lake City's Gay Pride parade. The Utah town's also home to his former NBA team, The Jazz. We wonder if his old teammates will come out to support his coming out. Probably not…

• President Bush's pick for Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Leslie Southwick, isn't only a great lawyer, he's a racist and homophobe! Good to know our president has a grasp on justice.

• Conservacunts take on Shrek The Third's ugly step-sister, saying the Larry King voiced character pushes the transgendered agenda. Don't these people have anything bettter to do with their lives?

• Coolest art website in history? We think so…

• Speaking of cool - Warner Brothers announced they are adapted DC Comic Teen Titans into a movie. Radical.

• The trials and tribulations of gay Mormons.

• Former CIA operative Valerie Plame and publisher Simon and Schuster have filed a lawsuit against the CIA for screwing with her forthcoming memoir.

John Amaechi also made an appearnace at the Log Cabin Republican's national convention. While there, the 36-year old former basketball player told the audience he's been pleasantly surprised by the positive support he's received:

I underestimated America. I braced myself for the wrath of a nation under God. I imagined that it would be a firestorm, that it would be some insane number of letters demanding my deportation or my death.

And in fact, 95 percent of the correspondence I've had have been overwhelmingly supportive and positive. But I will say that the 5 percent that I've had have been unbelievably, viscerally, frighteningly negative.

Amaechi also took a second to mention the surprising lack of support from his former jock comrades:

Probably 30 of my former [NBA] teammates have my e-mail and my telephone contacts and probably 16 or so of those I was in regular touch with and there are probably 10 people who I have [on instant messenger]. And zero — nobody — who's active in the NBA has been in touch with me since the day I came out, despite the fact that most of them knew I was gay in the first place.

Amaechi also wondered why NBA.com never mentioned his coming out, although he's quick to mention that the sports world is not the bellwether for social change…

CONTINUED »

American athleticism's growing increasingly queer. Former B-Baller John Amaechi cracked open the sportsman's closet when he came out a few months ago, now Los Angeles Times' Mike Penner's filling it up with dresses. The jocko-journo used yesterday's column to announce his plans to become a woman:

Today I leave for a few weeks' vacation, and when I return, I will come back in yet another incarnation.

As Christine.

I am a transsexual sportswriter. It has taken more than 40 years, a million tears and hundreds of hours of soul-wrenching therapy for me to work up the courage to type those words. I realize many readers and colleagues and friends will be shocked to read them.

That's OK. I understand that I am not the only one in transition as I move from Mike to Christine. Everyone who knows me and my work will be transitioning as well. That will take time. And that's all right. To borrow a piece of well-worn sports parlance, we will take it one day at a time.

That's the best way to broach the subject, particularly in such a testosterone heavy arena. The transition from man to woman (or woman to man) doesn't occur over night.

CONTINUED »

We think it's pretty tacky when people use our comments to promote their own work, but not when it's Pam Spaulding. She's just a doll. Just look at this picture of her and John Amaechi. Precious!

The shot got snapped at the National Black Justice Coalition's Black Church Summit where Amaechi took on the church's homophobic attitude, setting himself up as the great gay messiah:

I'm going to be a role model of substance, I'm going to stand up and I'm going to address the issues that I see as divisive…bridge the divide between the black community and the gay community and I'm going to talk about those issues at every opportunity I get. And I'm going to talk about real dangers…The black churches where people with powerful voices spill forth rhetoric like rotten fruit from their mouths, and I'm going to challenge those people.

Read what else he had to say by clicking here.

Spaulding also notes that Amaechi told her he reads her blog daily. Lucky bitch. Amaechi, if you're reading this, we'd really appreciate a little note to know that we're not totally bonkers when we say we can feel you undressing us with your eyes. Also, we must warn you: undressing us with your eyes has been known to cause hysterical blindness.