BY AMY WOOTEN AND ANDREW DAVIS
'IT'S HUGELY IMPORTANT for the kids so they don't feel alone in the world. We're role models,' she said. 'He will definitely help a lot of kids growing up to feel better about themselves.'—Martina Navratilova, AP, Feb. 9, on the news that pro basketball athlete John Amaechi has become the first NBA player to publicly come out.
'THE FACT THAT JOHN HAS DONE THIS, maybe it will give others the comfort or confidence to come out as well, whether they are playing or retiring.'—Orlando's Grant Hill, AP, Feb. 9, on the news former NBA player John Amaechi has come out.
'AS LONG AS YOU DON'T BRING YOUR GAYNESS on me, I'm fine. As far as business-wise, I'm sure I could play with him. But I think it would create a little awkwardness in the locker room.'—Philadelphia Sixers player Shavlik Randolph, AP, Feb. 9, on former NBA player John Amaechi coming out of the closet.
'THERE ARE SURELY GAY ATHLETES in all the major American team sports. But there has never been an openly gay active athlete in any of them. What would it take for that to change? It would take courage. It would take thick skin, because of of the booing on the road and the skeptical glances in the locker room. It would take a sense of humor, because in the locker room, everything is comic fodder. But mostly, it would take undeniable athletic talent. Jackie Robinson succeeded partly because he had the right temperament, but also because he was too gifted to ignore. I don't know where we will find the first openly gay NBA player, but I'm sure it won't be on the bench.'—Columnist Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press, Feb. 9.
'BY THE END of my second Utah season, I was practically daring reporters to take the bait and out me. But it never happened. My sexuality, I felt, had become an open secret, which was fine by me. I'd left enough open to interpretation that suspicions were gaining momentum.'—Former NBA player John Amaechi writes in his book, Man in the Middle ( ESPN Books ) , Outsports.com, Feb. 6.
'FROM AN ACTOR'S POINT OF VIEW, I understand why they are scared to death of saying anything for fear of being pigeonholed. Gay people are cast as straight all the time. But if you're asking if things have improved for openly gay actors, I can't say it's any easier now.'—Casting director Matt Messinger, in regards to how the public is okay with gay actors, while the industry lags behind, AP, Feb. 7.
'HE IS COMPLETELY HETEROSEXUAL. That is something he discovered. It was the acting- out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing.'—Rev. Tim Ralph, part of the oversight board dealing with disgraced Rev. Ted Haggard, who claimed after three weeks of intensive counseling that he is now straight, Denver Post, Feb. 6.
'FOR SOME REASON, the military seems more afraid of gay people than they are against terrorists, but they're very brave with the terrorists. If the terrorists eve got a hold of this information, they'd get a platoon of lesbians to chase us out of Bagdad.'—Rep. Gary Ackerman ( D-NY ) said while grilling Condoleezza Rice after she complained to the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the government's foreign language deficit, 365Gay.com, Feb. 7. Ackerman also asked Rice why the department hadn't hired any gay and lesbian translators fired by the Pentagon under Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
'WE DIDN'T GO OUT THERE to be like 'the gay family of reality TV,' we just went out to have fun on a TV show, just like any other family.'—Pepper Lane, who appeared on Fox's reality show Trading Spouses with partner Judy and their children, AfterEllen.com, Feb. 8.
'AH … THAT'S the million-dollar question, isn't it?'—Pop sensation Mika said in response to a question about whether he's straight, gay or 'something else,' February's Gay Times.
'Oral and anal sex are not pleasurable and have no benefit at all to those who take part in it. Most of them [ gays ] , if they are to be honest, will admit that the parts with which they engage in the unnatural sexual acts are always painful.' — Kenya Anti-Rape Movement founder Fatma Anyanzwa to the Sunday Nation newspaper Jan. 28 after African gays and lesbians made a big, groundbreaking splash at the recent World Social Forum in Nairobi.
'Go ahead and vote for the same-sex marriages. You won't be glad you did when you start noticing more natural disasters or epidemics! Why do you think homosexuals get AIDS? It's judgement sent to them from God. God sends judgement to those who commit sin, and that's everyone, including myself. I thank God for sending me judgement so I can be reminded from day to day that I am a sinner. For those who don't know God sent Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans because that city is what I call 'Sin City of the U.S.' Did you know the name Katrina means purifier?' — Reader Michael Guyer of Neoga, Ill., in a letter to the Journal Gazette in Mattoon, Ill., Jan. 20.
'She doesn't remind me of anyone. She's so unique. But she's an amazing actress. She's got so much interest in her right now and so many offers to do so many things—her career is about to take off again, and I can't wait for people to see.' — Ellen DeGeneres, when asked if any actress from Hollywood's golden age reminded her of her partner, Portia de Rossi, in The Advocate, Feb. 27.
'I didn't really think of it that way. I'm excited just as a woman, as a human being. There have been very few people, period, who get the opportunity to do this.' — DeGeneres, when asked if she says to herself, 'Wow, I'm the first gay woman to host the Oscars?,' to The Advocate, Feb. 27.
'I have so many! Like Zach Galifianakis. In fact, my wife always says that I have the biggest crush on him. He's a comic who usually has this big beard, but he's so freakin' funny.' — Actor Paul Rudd, when asked if he has any man-crushes, in the Feb. 27 issue of The Advocate.