Deadspin: sheryl swoopes

Inside The Mind Of Stephen A. Smith

Leitch — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 14:57:24 EDT

In what we're sure will be an enjoyable feature on his site, blogger Philadelphia Will Do has started a Psychoanalyzing Stephen A. Smith section, where he looks at each of Smith's Philadelphia Inquirer columns and tries to figure out what makes the man tick.

We think what makes the man tick is caffeine (or reasonable substitute), considering he's writing two columns a week and hosting a daily television show and daily radio show. This week's entry looks at a column that actually, we thought, had a semi-interesting take (for Smith, anyway): Asking whether it's inappropriate for Sheryl Swoopes' coach to be the object of her affections. The column, of course, feels rushed, and PWD points out that some of its basic questions could have been answered by, oh, actually making some phone calls and doing some reporting. But he's a busy man: We understand.

Partner Of Swoopes Crossed Coaching Line [Philly.com]
Psychoanalyzing Stephen A. Smith [Philadelphia Will Do]

Former Coach Picks Up Swoopes' Board

Leitch — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 10:40:31 EDT

So ESPN has the "first-person" narrative from Sheryl Swoopes announcing that she's a lesbian — or, as YAYSports! put it, "Sheryl Swoopes Is Admitting To Hot Lesbian Action" — and it's a good read. The most fascinating part is how Swoopes made the transition from mother going through a divorce to all-out lesbian. Fittingly enough for the three-time MVP, the relationship started from a rebound.

My partner [and former assistant coach], Alisa Scott, was probably the best friend I had when I was going through the tough times in my marriage. She would ask, "Have you guys tried marriage counseling? Have you done everything you can possibly do to save your marriage?" ... The thought of being intimate with her or any other woman never entered my mind. But I'm also a firm believer that when you fall in love with somebody, you can't control that. Whether it's another woman. Whether it's another man. Whatever.

So, for the record, lesbianism is not a huge part of the culture of the WNBA. Ahem. The saddest part of the story is when Swoopes tells her mother she's gay, who responses with a derisive, "I figured." Again, though, nothing to do with the league.

Swoopes Comes Out, In Her Words [ESPN]

(By the way, that photo is from an old swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated. Seems prescient now.)

Swoopes Pulls Back Mask On Lesbianism In WNBA

Leitch — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 11:10:31 EDT

Well, we've all been curious who the first high-profile athlete to announce that they're gay would be, and now that Houston Comets MVP Sheryl Swoopes has done it, well, we guess we're still kind of waiting. No offense to Swoopes, of course, who is one of the best players in WNBA history and actually has a Nike shoe named after her, but, well, as far as "high-profile" goes, she's still just one of the best players in WNBA history. This is not Anna Kournikova, Annika Sorenstam or (ahem) Michelle Wie coming out; this is a WNBA star, in a league that (unfairly or not) has a reputation of being primarily for lesbians anyway.

We salute Swoopes, of course, for being comfortable with coming out, though, we have to note again, it's toward the end of her career when most of her high-level endorsements long since passed. (Women's Hoops Blog hits the right note, basically just shrugging and saying, "good for her.") Of course, this begs the question: How will the WNBA handle this? Remember, the league, when it first started, marketed a married and preggers Swoopes as the "non-gay" face of the league. We figure they're going to just assume everyone forgot about that. Probably a good assumption.

Right now, though, you know Jay Mohr is somewhere in his basement, scribbling "jokes" about butch ladies beating him up.

Sheryl Swoopes Comes Out [OutSports]
Sheryl Swoopes Endorses Lesbian Cruise Line [Women's Hoops Blog]