Shortly after CNN reporter Don Lemon announced that he was gay, former Villanova University forward basketball player turned singer-songwriter Will Sheridan found the courage to follow suit and came out publicly in an article by Dana O'Neil at ESPN.
I’m trying to have a voice, and I want that voice to reach as many people as it can…I mean, look at me. I’m black. I’m gay. I’m like a quadruple minority, and I feel like a little piece of me resides in everybody. Maybe there’s a kid out there who doesn’t think he’s OK, and he can look at me and say, ‘OK, he played college basketball. He went overseas. He has a music career and now he’s living his life. Now he’s who he wants to be and he’s happy and confident and comfortable.’ It’s my responsibility to talk about that.
Sheridan’s story is one of acceptance through indifference; he stresses that the main concern of his teammates was that he was there to win. Mike Nardi, his roommate and the first teammate he told, spoke on the team’s collective disinterest:
Your personal life is your personal life. It didn’t matter to us because it’s family, and you don’t go putting your family’s secrets out in the streets. I mean, why would I tell anyone? It’s no one’s business except Will’s.
I love this rise in black men coming out and owning their truth. People should not be held hostage by the thoughts of others in regards to who they love in their private time. I applaud your courage for coming out Will and hope that many more in whatever public profession will do the same. We as gay people of color so desperately need a face to this movement to show that those stereotypes bestowed upon us by the media, the religious right and right-wing polititians is just not true. If you're expecting folks like Queen Latifah, Will Smith, Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy, LL Cool J and too many more to mention to forego their safe millions to scream their faggotry from the rooftops, you'll be waiting am ighty long time. Check out his video for his song Welcome To The Jungle below, which sounds like a cross between a fierce 90's bitch track-meets-Green Velvet. Definitely digging the music.
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