Warrrs Add First Openly Gay Exec to Front Office – NBC Bay Area

Contents:

• RICK WELTS, LEGENDARY GAY NBA EXECUTIVE, ANNOUNC RETIREMENT
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• RICK WELTS ON BEG GAY THE NBA
• AS AN OPENLY GAY PRO SPORTS EXECUTIVE, RICK WELTS, ’75, IS FALLY LIVG HIS TTH
• HOW NBA HALL OF FAMER RICK WELTS SPIRED GAY BASKETBALL ACH MATT LYNCH
• WARRRS GAY COO WELTS TO RETIRE
• OPENLY GAY NBA EXECUTIVE RICK WELTS WED HIS LONGTIME PARTNER TODD GAGE
• GAY NBA TEAM PRINT RICK WELTS JT MARRIED HIS LONGTIME BOYIEND
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• WARRRS ADD FIRST OPENLY GAY EXEC TO FRONT OFFICE
• WELE TO GLOBALGAYZ – GAY TRAVEL, CULTURE AND LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS
• THE ARE THE 10 MOST GAY-IENDLY UNTRI

RICK WELTS, LEGENDARY GAY NBA EXECUTIVE, ANNOUNC RETIREMENT

An openly gay print of an NBA team stands ntrast to what has been the norm men's major league sports the U.

11, 2020, 11:27 PM UTCThe print of the Goln State Warrrs has wed his longtime Welts and Todd Gage were married by San Francis Mayor London Breed her office on Friday, Welts announced on and Gage have been together ne years, Welts said his, who me out as gay 2011, has been an stmental part of the Warrrs' succs over the last ne years, helpg the team appear five straight NBA Fals, w three openly gay print of an NBA team stands ntrast to what has been the norm men's major league sports the U. In 2018, Coll Mart, a soccer player for Mnota Uned announced on Twter that he was gay, which ma him the only openly gay male player North Amerin sports leagu.

Prevly, he worked for the Phoenix Suns, beg the first NBA executive to publicly e out as gay. At Outsports, we’ll most remember Welts for his unparalleled role as an openly gay role mol the sports bs world. When Welts me out, he told the New York Tim he wanted to “pierce the silence that envelops the subject of homosexualy men’s team sports.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

-- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn. Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. Warrrs Print talks to Raj about beg gay the NBA.

RICK WELTS ON BEG GAY THE NBA

He me out as gay. Welts' public disclosure about his homosexualy turned out to be one of the bt experienc of his life. Welts, the print and CEO of the Natnal Basketball Ball Associatn’s Phoenix Suns, May beme the send person men’s profsnal basketball history to e out openly as a gay man.

AS AN OPENLY GAY PRO SPORTS EXECUTIVE, RICK WELTS, ’75, IS FALLY LIVG HIS TTH

“My imprsns of gay people me through the media, ” he explas.

The young fellow liked sports and was gay.

HOW NBA HALL OF FAMER RICK WELTS SPIRED GAY BASKETBALL ACH MATT LYNCH

NBA Commissner David Stern disclosed a New York Tim terview that he had known for years that Welts was gay but felt he uldn’t acknowledge .

Welts’ lleagu profsnal basketball have been supportive, and many have said they are happy that he fally was able to talk openly about beg gay. In addn to beg a pro sports executive who happens to be gay, Welts also lls himself “an unabashed Seattle lover.

WARRRS GAY COO WELTS TO RETIRE

Phoenix Suns CEO Rick Welts, ’75, who May beme the first profsnal sports team executive to e out as gay, is jt the latt a le of high-profile UW alumni who have had the urage to do so. Attorney for the Wtern District of Washgton was the first openly gay U.

OPENLY GAY NBA EXECUTIVE RICK WELTS WED HIS LONGTIME PARTNER TODD GAGE

The former UW nng back 1975 was the first pro athlete om a major team sport to announce he was gay. The former Hky basketball player is vice print of operatns for the Seattle Storm and is openly gay.

When I spoke to legendary sger Johnny Mathis late last year, he told me the story of how he set a natnal high jump rerd as a sophomore high school. Kaepernick said that he uld not stand to show pri the flag of a untry that opprsed Black as someone who stood for equal rights throughout his life and knew the trici of the fight, 2014, Rsell me out support of gay athlet, sayg that gay athlet' fight for equaly and acceptance remd him of some of the stggl Black athlet faced the 1960s.

GAY NBA TEAM PRINT RICK WELTS JT MARRIED HIS LONGTIME BOYIEND

"It seems to me, a lot of qutns about gay athlet were the same qutns they ed to ask about , " Rsell said. And he had only one qutn for a gay athlete "Can he play?

I reached out to Welts about his iendship wh Rsell and how Rsell was stmental helpg Welts announce that he was gay. "I cid I had to make some chang, but bee of my posn wh the Suns, I had no ia how the NBA players, fans, and other executiv would react to me beg gay.

"I'm not sure whether he knew I was gay or not, but I always remembered that when I was workg wh the Sonics Bill had lots of celebry iends, some who were gay, so I spected that he might be acceptg, but there was no guarantee.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

"I told Bill that I was gay and that I was planng to e out and asked him to do somethg that he really hated dog, and that was talkg to the media on my behalf.

WARRRS ADD FIRST OPENLY GAY EXEC TO FRONT OFFICE

Welts beme the first proment out gay executive major sports history. Rick Welts, the gay print and chief operatg officer of the Goln State Warrrs, will step away om the anizatn at the end of the 2020-21 season, he and the team announced April 8.

Welts has been a member of the NBA for nearly five s, cludg this most recent stt wh the Warrrs, which began 2011, several months after he publicly me out as gay a New York Tim article while servg as print and CEO of the Phoenix Suns.

At the time he was the first senr sports executive to announce that he was gay. Mark Jackson has for years faced allegatns that he ma homophobic ments that led to a problematic environment when he was the ach of the Goln State Warrrs a ago. Stori and mors about anti-gay ments by Jackson have floated around for years.

WELE TO GLOBALGAYZ – GAY TRAVEL, CULTURE AND LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS

We’ve prevly wrten about claims that a rift had veloped on the Warrrs when Jackson allegedly volized opposn to same-sex marriage, spe the team print at the time, Rick Welts, beg gay. Now allegatns unearthed by Ethan Strss claim that at the time he was Warrrs ach, “Jackson had referred to Jason Colls and team print Rick Welts, both openly gay, as ‘penis grabbers’ who were ‘gog to hell. Dpe him landg media jobs talkg about the NBA, Jackson’s alleged homophobia may keep him om ever achg the NBA.

It was ne years ago, when he was print and chief executive of the Phoenix Suns, that Welts me out as the first openly gay NBA executive. Welts explaed that he wants to pierce the silence that envelops the subject of homosexualy men’s team sports.

THE ARE THE 10 MOST GAY-IENDLY UNTRI

He wants to be a mentor to gay people who harbor doubts about a sports reer, whether on the urt or the ont office.

Welts, who stands now as a te rary, a man promently employed profsnal men’s team sports, willg to clare his homosexualy. To e out as gay.

Sports executive to publicly intify as a gay man, has tied the knot.