Wicks's Statement Stirs Little Reaction
Around the time in May that Mets catcher Mike Piazza held a news conference to respond to -- and deny -- a blind item in a gossip column about a gay star player on the Mets, Sue Wicks of the Liberty told Time Out New York that she was gay.
     In an interview in the weekly magazine's May 30 issue, Wicks was asked: "Are you a lesbian?"
     "I am," she said. "Being from New York, if you're gay, you're gay. I think it's important that if you are gay, you not be afraid to say who you are."
    Piazza's denial made headlines and was reported on the nightly news broadcasts. Wick's [SIC] affirmation received scant notice.
    Wicks, a 6-foot-3 forward, is a W.N.B.A. All-Star and a fan favorite. Little girls wear her No. 23 jersey and blush when she autographs them. Last month, she received an award from the team for community service. Around the league, Wicks is respected among her peers for her work ethic on and off the court.

Hmm. While not disputing the article's argument that the strikingly different statuses of male and female athletes in our society makes a difference as to how and whether one comes out and how it is received, I would suggest two things.

First ... what the hell has being from New York got to do with being gay or not? I'm pretty sure that if you're from Kalamazoo and you're gay ... well, you're still gay. (OK, that's picayune, I know.)

Second: the fact that the reaction of most people to this announcement would be, "Who the hell is Sue Wicks?" is probably somewhat more relevant. Notably, the reaction when Martina Navratilova, to whom the article compares Wicks, made the same announcement was not "Who the hell is she?" but "What the hell is she DOING?" (primarily from her sponsors and the tour officials) or "Who knew?" or "I always knew," or "Yay!"

There may be some advertisers that become a little skittish ... if they even notice. However, it's possible that being a relatively little known athlete in a relatively little watched sport may preserve her endorsements. Obscurity has its benefits, in an odd sort of way.

At this point in time, the only women with any sort of athletic prominence, as a group and as a general rule, are figure skaters and tennis players. (Although women's soccer has its moments.) Those are the only people whom we would probably notice when they came out ... and not all of them. (Amelie Mauresmo, French tennis player, only made the news after coming out because a fellow player insulted her for it, after all; the event itself was a complete nonstarter, newswise.)

Assuming that the WNBA propels women's basketball into more prominence, there may come a day when that announcement by a WNBA player is a Very Big Deal to someone besides the person in question.

That day is not today.