Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 1:00 pm  |  198 responses

John Amaechi Discusses the Kobe ‘Incident’

by Marcel Mutoni

For a guy who had a fairly forgettable NBA career (dude averaged a little over 6 ppg for three different teams), he’s gotten quite a bit of ink in the last few months. Oh, right, he’s (gasp!) openly gay and seems to sort of enjoy the attention. Never mind.

Anyhow, Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports bog was kind enough to send along his interview with John Amaechi, in which they discussed Amaechi’s recent “encounter” with Kobe Bryant and other members of Team USA in China (among other things):

So let’s get this out of the way up front: the actual “incident,” which Amaechi had already explicitly described on his blog nearly two weeks ago, involved Kobe seeing Amaechi through the window of the team bus as the U.S. team headed towards the media center for their introductory press conference.

According to Amaechi, Kobe then mouthed the words “what the [bleep]?”"I was lip reading,” Amaechi told me. “Not that it’s one of my particular talents, but some things you can tell.”

So, he didn’t actually talk to the guy (or any of his teammates for that matter); he read lips through a bus window and concluded that they were all feeling “derision, amusement and contempt” at the sight of a gay former basketball player. Riiiight.

Hope you’re enjoying these long 15 minutes of fame, John.

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  • http://theghostofroyhobbs.blogspot.com Mo Charlo

    Ryan, all gay people also have british accents.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ryan Jones

    I know, Jukai—works like a motherf*cker, too. The fact that you’ve picked up on this bothers me, though. I may have to have you eliminated.

  • Marcel Mutoni

    wait, gay people have blogs now? sheeeeeeeit, next they’ll want voting rights. /shakes head in disbelief.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ryan Jones

    Here, I’ll be sincere: I wish so many of the people who commented here weren’t a) stupid, b) ignorant, c) hateful, or d) some combination of the above.
    The problem is, when I do that, I sound mean. I mean people suck. I saw that on a bumper sticker.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ryan Jones

    With sincere apologies for the extra, unnecessary “I” in the post above.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ryan Jones

    Oh, snap — Jukai, you actually DON’T love how I respond to everything with sarcasm, do you! Dammit. You totally got me on that one.

  • H to the Izzo

    The Off season is fun!

  • http://www.slamonline.com Ryan Jones

    Back in the day, Izzo, we might say we were having a gay old time.
    Goodnight.

  • Marcel Mutoni

    story time: so, i was out last night at a club here in ottawa. in the booth next to where i was sitting, two girls began randomly sucking each other’s faces.

    they were reasonably cute, so i was transfixed (as was pretty much everyone else in the room). chatting with them a few minutes later – hey, you never know. am i right? – they informed me that they’d hooked up that very night, and did this sort of thing all the time.

    i have no idea what the point of this story is, or what it has to do with john amaechi, but i thought i’d share. g’nite!

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com/ RV

    Ryan, i was just trying to point out publicity wouldn’t be bad thing for him, but obviously this doesn’t send sales through the roof….Baconator, Leryn Franco is really where it’s at.

  • http://fjsdklf.com Jukai

    Mutoni, pictures or it didn’t happen

  • Diesel

    This is completely late on the topic but Eboy – Misty May looks like Skeletor now. She used to be nice but she’s slowly turning into the Krypt Keeper.

  • Diesel

    I saw a gay guy once. He smelled like sunshine.

  • http://fjsdklf.com Jukai

    Oh a serious note though: Mutoni, Ryan, Izzo, TADone, Young Chris, Eboy, Russ, Sab, everyone else, thank you on the positive input on this post, even if it was entirely sarcastic. The last one pretty much had me utterly puzzled and disappointed, and it’s good to see that there are some posters who wont start bashing gays the first chance they get.

  • http://fjsdklf.com Jukai

    The last one being the last article that Amaechi was linked in.

  • 1hush D

    It is a tight race for as*hole of the week – Is it the self-absorbed Amaechi? Is it the homophobic, egotistical Bryant? Or is it the drama queen Mutoni? A very tight race from my viewpoint.

  • http://nba.com/celtics/ Moose

    @ 1hush D: i think calling mutoni a drama queen is a bit over the top. but then again, he is a laker fan . . . :-)

  • TADOne

    Damnit, Jukai thanked me! Does this make me slightly gay or just bi?

  • http://fjsdklf.com Jukai

    Slightly?

  • http://shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com Eboy

    Tri?

  • http://www.myspace.com/hemantsbeats what

    “First, nothing he has said legitimizes hating him. Nothing. He’s done nothing that is “hate-worthy.” Second, if you honestly think that the actions of one gay man can make all gay people look bad, you’re an idiot.” Way to misinterpret my statement. I never said that +I+ think he makes all gay people look bad. I said that it’s not surprising that people would form that perception based on his actions. A reading comprehension class may do you some good.

  • http://www.ballerblogger.com Brandon Hoffman

    I don’t doubt that Amaechi could have sense “amusement” or shock through a bus window. After all, it’s not as if Amaechi is a basketball analyst in the States. The last time anyone on the team even thought about him was when he revealed his is gay over a year ago. But contempt is a pretty strong emotion. I doubt a third party looking through that window would have come away with that impression.

  • http://www.slamonline.com The Frozen 1

    WTF is this gay character doing at the olympics? Shouldn’t he be like someplace else or something & why the hell are we talking about him? He’s gay!!!

  • http://www.slamonline.com The Frozen 1

    I feel a lil’ gay for just reading this.

  • Drew

    What, I am a lawyer and an author. My job and my hobby for the last twenty years have involved reading comprehension. There is no way to read this comment as not repulsive:

    People like him make all gays look worse.

    Hitler tried to act on behalf of white people, did he make other whites look bad? How about Charles Manson, who was trying to start a race war on behalf of whites?

  • http://www.nrl.com.au Money Bill Williams

    frozen 1, who gives a f*ck if he is gay, nobody on this post does, they hate him for other reasons such as slandering the league and thinking he’s top sh*t

  • http://www.nrl.com.au Money Bill Williams

    so if the body of your arguemen is just “He’s gay!!!” then you can go f*ck yourself for having such an absent mind. Do i think homsexuality is wrong: YES I DO I ADMIT, it goes against all religion, but i ain’t got a problem if others choose that life, coz it aint none of my business. Neither do the other posters here, you shouldn’t either

  • http://www.sprint.com/sero Dma

    sports are homophobic because society dictates it. you’re supposed to be this manly type man to play the major sports. do you know how many closeted gay kids played high school football or basketball? no guy, gay or straight, was to be called soft especially in the world of sports. i used to ball all the time at U of Oregon and sometimes some of the guy cheerleaders would run too. i remember one time the guys on the cheerleading squad just ran these one guys 11 to 2 or 3. and the whole time the team that lost kept talking sh*t calling them f*gs and the nonsense. i lost my point..

  • http://www.nrl.com.au Money Bill Williams

    the point is that frozen ones ideas are short sighted and downright stupid

  • Bryant Reeves

    “Baconator, most white people do hate Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton” (AllenP – 2:08pm). “if you honestly think that the actions of one gay man can make all gay people look bad, you’re an idiot” (AllenP – 3:25 pm). Either AllenP has interviewed all white people, he is a hypocrite, or is the golden example of the pot calling the kettle “gay”.

  • http://www.lkz.ch/basket Darksaber

    Yawn. WTF indeed.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=627550406 KA

    pfft. we all know only reason kobs said WTF because thats what jordan wouldve done.

  • http://slamonline.com Deno

    I think him and Jose Canseco should elope, change their names to Mr. and Mr. 15 minutes!

  • RedRum

    we are not informed of what Amaechi was wearing… it is possible that he was wearing pink leggings, a red top and a huge red hat. kobe saw him and went, WTF??? on another note, the commenting on British TV on the basketball games is hilarious. They have a couple of guys, who were also doing the NBA commenting, and they try to explain the game to the Brits. We hear comments like: ” shots behind that line count for 3 points, the rest of the points count for 2″; “the point guard is one of the most important players on the court, he is the organiser, like beckham in football…”

  • Mendel

    I’m sure this is one person who is very very excited to watch Barkleys new reality gig.

  • iain.

    i have to say amaechi and whoever the other guy is have impressed me with their commentating today, they got rid of the crusty old posh dude who commentated in Athens. He came out with some classic (terrible) lines.

  • http://www.ravingblacklunatic.blogspot.com Allenp

    Bryant Reeves, obviously you missed my discussion with Eboy, but the word “most” does not mean “all.” Thanks for playing though.

  • eyehatedirk

    One time at a show I went to that my friend put on he had a mailing list to sign up for if you wanted to receive emails regarding future events/bands being booked. The column next to it was labeled “sexual preference”. I filled in FGT for mine.

  • Jose

    they should all wear t’s with a rainbow but put “not gay” under it but to show they dont hate john ,under that put “but supportive”

  • CoolWhip11

    Just to be clear, we’re still making “tell me how my a@@ tastes” jokes right?

  • Ohpityme

    Haha I doubt Kobe would know who he even is anymore.
    Dude needs to get over himself no-one cares.
    Only way this ‘story’ should be on here is if Kobe Bryant had thrown Tim Hardaway at John Amaechi wolverine & colossus style!
    Funny thing I was watching this programme a while back about UK B-ball and it had John Amaechi on it and said he was a nba hall of famer…..hahahaha!

  • Bryant Reeves

    AllenP – the difference between judging “most” people and “all” people based on the actions of one or a few people doesn’t make the conclusion anymore legitimate.

  • steve downard

    maybe kobe was like wat the f.,. is john doing here its not like kobe wont know who he is he probs dunked on his fat ass a few times

  • mytake

    We’re the ones giving John’s story all the attention. Let’s move on and I’m sure he will to.

  • http://www.freewebs.com/betcats BETCATS

    goddamm!!!! ignorance, ignorance, ignorance. I am not known as slamonline’s intelect, and when John Ammechi first annouced he was g@y, i had some things that would have made great headlines at a GOP fundrasier/hate party. But since then i have made great friends with this le$bian chick, and we have really bonded. She has opened my eyes that h0m0sexuals are the same as us and deserve our respect. The way some of yall were posting, i question whether you were sent here by Fox ‘News’ or not. Seriously, stop the hate on these people. They were born that way, they cant change it just like i cant change the color of my skin. Sure i could bleach my self and say i was white, but under it all i am as dark as Manute Bol. And no i am not g@y, no i am not some nut, but i got respect. Jesus, them nuts come out when i am gone.

  • Rev Run

    thats so stupid ne way me and my friend were checking out the allstar game again(thanks to t-vo)and afta every dunk caron butler wud be making f*ckin funny actions what a fag

  • rando

    Who cares. Bad enough they write a story about this but even worse that so many people worry about it.

  • http://hibachi20.blogspot.com Hursty

    Yeh! BETCATS sure does keep the idiots away.

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