Before there was Jason Collins, there was John Amaechi, who, in 2007, four years after his NBA retirement, announced that he is gay.
Amaechi obviously has a very unique perspective on Collins' landmark announcement and joined CBS Sports Radio to talk about how he talked to Collins before he came out, and how there are more players whom he's talking with.
"I've known about Jason for quite some time," Amaechi said.
Amaechi said he had multiple conversations with Collins but insisted he wasn't anything more than a friend there to allow Collins to bounce ideas and thoughts off of. Amaechi didn't like being painted as an "advisor" to Collins at all, instead deflecting all credit to Collins himself.
"This has nothing to do with me. This is all him," Amaechi said. "The reality what we have here is a remarkable human being making a decision, that I can already affirm has had a radical positive impact on people."
Amaechi, who played six NBA seasons with the Cavaliers, Magic, Jazz and Rockets (never appeared in a game with Houston),said he has spoken with other current players who are gay.
"There are other people I'm talking to," Amaechi said. "There are other people who I'm chatting to, other people who are perhaps not as amazingly equipped to handle the rigors of this type of media circus as Jason. And when they'll be ready, I don't know."
Amaechi was asked if any of the players whom he's talking with are a higher caliber player than Collins, as in a more household NBA name.
"I hesitate to endorse what I think is a pretty thin meme that the better the player the more important their sexuality," he said. "I just can't buy into that. I'm focused on what Jason has done today. I don't think it's opening floodgates; there are still logistical and legislative hurdles to overcome, especially in America."
The hesitation for other players obviously stems from the potential media circus that Collins is currently enduring. But, more than that, potentially impacting his relationship with teammates who aren't comfortable with a gay teammate whether it be because of fear, religious reasons or whatever.
"I recognize there are a lot of people that hold views about gay people that are backed up by a bronze-age book," Amaechi said. "I have no problem with their opinion as long as they don't think it's so divine that it's allowed to manifest physically. That it should manifest in a way that actually impacts teammates.
"If you're really one of those people that believes hom*osexuality is a sin, I would have no problem with that and very little difficulty with it, except for the fact I was in those locker rooms with men talking about sex they had with woman that weren't their wives," he continued. "With men talking about gambling. With men who played on the Sabbath. With men who wore clothing with mixed fabrics. With men who violated any number of tenets in Leviticus, in Genesis and Deuteronomy. If you're going to be consistent, I can live with your condemnation. But if you're going to pick at the Old Testament as if it was a smorgasbord, that you could go along and take the pepperoni and banana peppers but ignore the olives, then I don't have that much respect for you."
Collins, 34, is a free agent. But what makes him unique is that he intends to continue playing. Amaechi has no doubt that Collins will be able to find another contract and another team to play for.
"He's going to play. I'm confident that he will have another contract to play again in the NBA," he said. "The issue of hom*ophobia in sports is rarely rooted in the locker room. That's what people who have never been in a locker room think. But it lives at a higher level in administration. It lives with team owners who speak vociferously about their anti-gay sentiments, who donate large amounts of money to anti-gay organizations. It's about legislation that allows you to be fired in 30 states for being gay. That's really where it sits, at a much higher level. Teammates -- you've already heard the vast majority of people that know Jason, that have played with Jason, have sent just amazing messages to him of support."
Amaechi was asked what the next step is for sports in America, particularly the NBA, on this topic. And he summarized it simply.
"You know what the next step really is? The next step really is somebody coming out and people saying, 'Oh, that's nice. Are you ready for the next playoff game?'"
