Posted on 05/15/2011 2:19:38 PM PDT by ConservativeStatement
Phoenix Suns president and CEO Rick Welts, in an effort to breach what he sees as the tiptoed-around topic of homosexuality in men's team sports, recently met with friends, associates and a newspaper reporter to reveal he is gay.
Welts, believed to be the first man in a prominent position in men's sports who has declared his homosexuality, says he wants to now mentor other gay people who seek to pursue a career in sports, according to The New York Times.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
Bah... Should have previewed. Lets try that again:
Named president and chief executive officer on April 30, 2009, Rick Welts supervises all business operations of the Phoenix Suns and oversees the club’s interests in the management of the US Airways Center and the Phoenix Mercury (WNBA). He joined the Suns in July 2002 as president and chief operating officer.
Welts previously served successful stints in professional basketball with the NBA league office and the Seattle SuperSonics. His association with the NBA office spanned from 1982-99 until he departed as the league’s executive vice president, chief marketing officer and president of NBA Properties. Welts helped guide the revitalization of the league and its image through strong marketing initiated by the NBA and he is credited with the creation of the NBA All-Star Weekend concept in 1984, now a league highlight and a standard in both the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball.
He was also responsible for the 1992 Olympics “Dream Team” marketing program as the agent for USA Basketball. In 1998, Brandweek magazine named Welts “Marketer of the Year” for his role in creating and launching the WNBA. It was an honor he shared with former WNBA President Val Ackerman. In 2006, he was named the winner of the Splaver/McHugh “Tribute to Excellence” Award, given annually by the NBA Public Relations Directors’ Association to a former member of the NBA public relations family who has demonstrated an outstanding level of performance and service during his or her career.
During his tenure at the NBA office, Welts supervised league departments including corporate sponsorship and media sales, consumer products, media relations, community relations, team services, special events, creative services, and retail including the NBA Store and the “NBA City” restaurant. He was also responsible for the NBA’s international business activities, from placing preseason games in foreign countries to opening the league’s first international office in Australia to supervising six regional offices and 75 international employees in Asia, Europe, Australia, Mexico and Canada.
Recruited in 1982 by David Stern, then the NBA’s executive vice president for business and legal affairs, Welts joined the NBA as director of national promotions for NBA Properties (NBAP). He established the corporate sponsorship department for the league and in 1983 was named vice president of marketing for NBAP. When Stern became NBA commissioner in February 1984, he promoted Welts to vice president of marketing and communications. Four years later, he was promoted again to president of NBA Properties, responsible for virtually all the league’s off-court revenue businesses and marketing activities. He added the title of NBA executive vice president and chief marketing officer in 1996.
Welts entered the world of the NBA in 1969 as a ball boy for the Seattle SuperSonics. He remained with the Sonics for 10 years in several different capacities, including director of public relations during Seattle’s back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals and the club’s lone NBA Championship in 1979.
Following his stint with the Sonics he moved in 1979 to Bob Walsh & Associates, one of the first sports marketing firms in the United States. As vice president, he was involved in creating the first sports subscription cable service (Sonics SuperChannel), as well as representing athletes in the NBA, MLB and NFL.
Welts left the NBA in June 1999 to become president of Fox Sports Enterprises, a new entity that managed Fox interests in facilities and sports teams including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dodger Stadium, STAPLES Center, the Los Angeles Kings, Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and New York Rangers.
In June 2001 along with two partners, Casey Wasserman and Gary Stevenson, Welts became a partner in a sports consulting firm, ONSPORT. Prior to that start-up venture he served as president for one year of “First In Line,” a joint venture between USA Network’s TicketMaster & SFX.
A native of Seattle, Welts attended the University of Washington.
I know that’s the stereotype, but I think the truth is more about a screwed up relationship with the dad. We lived in California and they lived in Washington and weren’t very close but I was told there was a demand for perfection in their house. He and his sister went through school with almost perfect 4.0 GPA’s. The family seemed nice enough. Something went haywire.
A non-Christian society will celebrate evil in many forms and will also be oppress and stifle individual freedom and incentive.
The history of America in a nutshell...
Seriously, do we need a person-by-person accounting among all public figures of who likes to play with which set of equipment? How about we keep private aspects of our lives private? Or must we hear a roll call from the next 29 NBA team presidents: Women! Women! Guys! Women! Women! Women! Guys and Women! Women! Ducks! Women! Women!
Have I relegated myself to a "closet" by not revealing who I have been intimate with? And does telling the world who and/or what I've been with actually have any positive effect on my life? Surely not. Shouting it from the rooftops (AKA, having or allowing the MSM to print it) simply shows that someone is far too focused on one small aspect of their lives, most likely at the expense of most of the rest of it.
I am sure he wants to help them at a very young age.
Now that is not nice. Seriously that is pretty low. You are calling him a pedophile? I just wish that people would not announce that they are gay. It is really a strange thing to do. I think they should just live their lives and let God sort it out later. But to seek so much attention is just weird.
Richard Simmons is the only decent “gay” person out there. At least he has never mentioned such things. In fact, I find it funny how everyone thinks he is gay but he has never given any indication to that fact. Also do you think he was gay at 3 years old? That is what is so hard to understand about gay folks. God does not make gay people so what do we say about Richard Simmons??????
it’s getting ridiculous.
Well, when it’s the antithesis of the “I Have a Dream” Speech, it should be. This whole identity politics thing, IMO, is pretty much rediculous when in so many cases, I have seen a decent amount of coexistence with people despite their differences.
Can a black man mentor a white kid? Can a gay man mentor a straight kid? Do we need separate islands for everyone?
Both are possible, so long as the “mentor” gets outside of his or herself and recognizes the value of whomever they mentor. But the sad part is, there’s a new segregation rising for some people, only this time, it’s more a result of choice than by reactionary law.
“Coming out” is usually for some additional attention. As far as Simmons goes, he’s probably big enough that if he is gay, he doesn’t care, and if he’s not, he’s pretty occupied with the whole message about working out more than anything else. It’s almost like if someone said Mr. T was gay, so what, I don’t think he will mention what he is anytime soon.
Most of American society is not Christian. Again, they either believe in Christian values (Jesse Helms) or embrace the sodomy (Alan Simpson). There is really not much in between.
Hey... the WNBA’s Phoenix MERCURY has Diana T. on the team — they DO NOT play like women!!!
the photo you posted tells the whole story
if we are all just supposed to be “okay” with this deviance then why don’t we have young men in pasties and thong dancing pants out there shrieking for the “boys” to “drive for the hole”?
we should push a class action lawsuit to force just that kind of “diversity” in this scumbag’s arena...then we would find out just how long his fan base would stick with him, which would be about two games, which would mean either he would be fired or the place would shut down
either and/or both would be just fine with me
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.