Nash on gay NBA players: ‘It won’t be the O.J. Simpson trial’
May 30, 2011, 8:44 PM | Updated: May 31, 2011, 6:48 am
Steve Nash doesn’t think that openly gay players in the NBA would be a problem. In fact, he seems rather dismissive of the whole issue.
“I think it will be something that won’t take on this life of its own. It won’t be the O. J. trial,” Nash said.
In an interview with The New York Times, Nash said that a player’s sexual orientation doesn’t matter on or off the court.
“If a player in the locker room came out, it would come and go quickly,” Nash said. “I really don’t think it’s a big issue anymore. I think it would be surprisingly accepted, and a shorter shelf life than maybe we would imagine.”
Nash added that he thinks the time should come soon for players to come out, especially given the recent announcement by Suns’ president and CEO Rick Welts that he is gay.
“I don’t think the players on our team care,” Nash said. “Not a lot of guys on the team have a lot of contact with Rick, including myself. Obviously, I have a ton of respect for him and what he does for the organization. I think he’s great at what he does.”
While Nash does think it would be a slightly different situation if a general manager or someone from the basketball-side of an organization came out, he said it would only be because that person is slightly more high-profile.
“There would be a lot of, ‘Really?’ And then a short period later, everyone’s like, ‘Who cares?’ and moves on,” Nash said.
