He was all over every ingredient of the ESPN network stew, he was featured on countless talk shows and he even started a little controversy that kept the whole show humming. And for all of this: He sold 9,000 books.

That's not very many; it's 1,000 more books than Paula freaking Poundstone sold. We mention this not to rip on Amaechi, who seems like a pleasant enough fellow. We are just amazed that the ESPN marketing machine couldn't do better. (We're sure Simmons' book sold eight or nine times that ... at least.) Hopefully Kordell Stewart's book will do better.

Looking At The Business Of Gay "Celebrity" Books [Towleroad]

Anyway, we don't know if he has any gainful employment, but we certainly know how he's been keeping busy. Mr. Amaechi is without question the Gay Pride Parade Marshal De Jour. The guy's everywhere, all summer.

Next Sunday, he's the grand marshal of the Chicago Gay Pride Parade, and that makes, by our count, the third parade already this summer, after Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. We don't know if any more are planned the rest of this summer, but we have a feeling, if you need him, Amaechi is available.

Chicago Gay Pride Parade [Chicago Pride Calendar]

"And in fact, 95 percent of the correspondence I've had have been overwhelmingly supportive and positive," Amaechi said. "But I will say that the 5 percent that I've had have been unbelievably, viscerally, frighteningly negative."

Well, we're Americans. We don't do anything half-ass. We really put our heart and soul into our hatred. His NBA brethren haven't been among the hateful crowd, but have done their best to distance themselves from him.

"Probably 30 of my former [NBA] teammates have my e-mail and my telephone contacts and probably 16 or so of those I was in regular touch with and there are probably 10 people who I have [on instant messenger]. And zero — nobody — who's active in the NBA has been in touch with me since the day I came out, despite the fact that most of them knew I was gay in the first place," Amaechi said.

He also wondered why nba.com has never mentioned his homosexuality when it was such a huge sports story everywhere else.

I don't have an answer for you on that one, Meech. But I'm sure David Stern would rather you be gay than be anything like Stephen Jackson. I hope that's comforting.

'I underestimated America' [SI.com]

Wednesday night, the fine gent at With Leather attended a reading by big gay author John Amaechi, and, as it turns out, they all ended up out drinking afterwards. (Inevitable!) They ended up at prominent New York City media snob hangout Soho House — of course — and the question you're all wondering about was raised.

Is Amaechi a top or a bottom? Seems a bit of a personal question to ask of a celebrity I don't really know, and I struggled with a way to pose the question. Well, Billy and John and I had a nightcap at Soho House, a ritzy Meatpacking District club where you have to be a member or be with a member in order to get in (I fall into the latter category). While Billy spoke with an acquaintance, I asked John, "How'd you come up with 'Man in the Middle'? Shouldn't it be 'Man on Top' or 'Man on Bottom'?" Alas, he didn't take the bait, and I was left with a mundane explanation of the position of center, and not intimate details of his sex life. Sorry. I said I was bad at journalism.

You know, we admire Amaechi, sure, we guess, but he really needs a better sense of humor about this stuff. In an interview with NPR, the questioner asked him, tongue-in-cheek, about a Deadspin comment that said, "you had to know Amaechi was gay; he showed up at a press conference wearing a beret." Amaechi got all offended, saying that — FOR THE LAST TIME, PEOPLE! — you can't tell if a guy is gay or not by whether he's wearing a beret. John, seriously: We like you, we do, but you wrote a whole book about being gay. You can probably handle a line about berets, or take a question about "Man On Top" without a lengthy and condescending discussion of the center position, right? Lighten up, man: We're on your side.

A Night Out With John Amaechi [With Leather]
Book Tells Of Life In The NBA For A Gay Player [NPR]

"...it's not because I was gay, that he didn't like me. That was part of it, but it shouldn't have been part of it. He also didn't like me because he thought I didn't like white people. And the fact is my mother is white, so I'm kind of insulted by that in certain. He is a belligerent man. He is a cruel man in many respects.

This is not about my inability to take criticism. It's my inability to be called an f'ing c on a daily basis."

"...he's the best coach I've ever played for in terms of his technical ability. And without a doubt, he's the worst the person I've ever met in my entire life, in terms of dealing with people."

You know, his book might have been significantly less interesting had Amaechi played anywhere other than Utah. Owners who won't screen Brokeback Mountain, coaches who call him a cunt. He probably owes the organization some royalties from book sales.

But come on, Meech. If Carlos Boozer can put up with it from Paul Silas, then you can deal with it from Jerry Sloan.

Amaechi Calls Jerry Sloan 'A Cruel Man' [NBA FanHouse]

"For real? He's gay for real? Nowadays it's proven that people can live double lives. I watch a lot of TV, so I see a lot of sick perverted stuff about married men running around with gay guys and all types of foolishness."

This, we believe, is yet another reference to that famous "On The Down Low" episode of Oprah that has somehow wormed its way into the public consciousness. But Hunter is right: It is proven that people can live double lives. Nowadays. Proven by science.

Amaechi News Roundup [ESPN]
Keep Your Gayness Away From Shavlick [Just Call Me Juice]

• He spent three years in Europe and had a regular boyfriend. When he returned to the NBA and the Jazz, he went celibate.

• After he earned a guaranteed contract with the Jazz, he felt more comfortable being himself and would look forward to road trips to cities with, you know, openly gay people in them.

• He had "much respect" for Jeff Van Gundy, but not much for Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who supposedly used "anti-gay innuendo" to describe him to teammates.

• Here's our favorite one: Amaechi says one of his biggest regrets was not admitting his sexuality to one of his best friends on the team ... Greg Ostertag! God, what we wouldn't give for video of that conversation.

John Amaechi To Come Out Publicly [OutSports]
Your Anonymous Gay Former NBAer Is Less Anonymous Now (But Only Slightly So) [Deadspin]

The book, being published on February 20 through ESPN Books (which means you're going to be hearing about it non-stop for a week, and then you'll never think about it again), is available for pre-order on Amazon and is called, amusingly, "Man In The Middle." (ESPN Books, when we called then — see, we call people! We're reporters! — neither confirmed nor denied that Amaechi was the player.)

As far as athletes go, Amaechi — a former Academic All-American who was once traded for Glen Rice — isn't the most breathtaking name, but if he's the guy, he's sure to have some fun tales to tell from the road. From all accounts, Amaechi is a classy, intelligent fellow. He also has a cool accent.

But anyway: Yeah. This is what you're gonna see on ESPN every day for the next couple of weeks starting on Valentine's Day. Synergy, baby.

An NBA Player Is About To Come Out Of The Closet [Sun-Times Blogs]
"Man In The Middle" [Amazon]
John Amaechi [Official Site]

(UPDATE: OutSports has seen the Amaechi book and has a full report.)