The Mad Professah Lectures

Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson, two WNBA players, both 24-years-old, were suspended for a record 7 games (more than 20% of the WNBA season of 34 games) as a result of an April 22nd domestic violence incident where both women were arrested prior to their May 8th wedding in Phoenix Arizona.

The couple, who will use the surname Johnson-Griner, wrote their own vows. Ms. Griner was brief, funny and tender: “With you by my side, I know that I’ll always be taken care of and protected. I will give every ounce of my love that is possible to you, as long as you cook me fried chicken wings and hot chocolate.” 

Ms. Johnson’s vows also short and sweet, addressed the complications in their relationship head on — and with humor. “I promise to be the Whitney to your Bobby, the Bonnie to your Clyde, the Ike to your Tina,” she began, to laughter from the small gathering of about 50 friends and family. 

“I promise to accept that we’re different, that we will see the world differently and over the course of our marriage we will want different things,” she said. “I don’t expect this to be easy.”

Griner was the #1 WNBA draft pick in 2013 and made history doing so an openly LGBT athlete.

Good luck to the happy couple!

Openly gay NBA player Jason Collins was named to TIME magazine's "The 100 Most Influential People" list for 2014.

Superstar Beyonce Knowles-Carter is on the cover of the popular issue, and subsequent inside covers feature actor Robert Redford, Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay athlete, and General Motors CEO Mary Barra. Other honorees include actress Amy Adams, Amazon founder and The Washington Post’s newest owner Jeff Bezos, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Pope Francis, actress Christy Turlington Burns, potential presidential candidate and grandmother-to-be Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State John Kerry, Late Night host Seth Meyers, country singer Carrie Underwood, “Happy” singer Pharrell Williams, Russian President Vladimir Putin and singer Miley Cyrus.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

The New York Times is reporting that Jason Collins, who last year came out as the first openly gay player to be competing in a major American professional sport, will become the first openly gay player in the NBA by joining the Brooklyn Nets for a 10-day contract. Collins had been playing for the Washington Wizards but when he came out the season for the team was over and he was technically not on any NBA team's roster. With his signing with the Nets, he will likely become the first openly gay player to compete in an official NBA game very soon, perhaps as soon as tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (where Collins lives).

LOS ANGELES — Jason Collins, a 35-year-old N.B.A. center who announced last year that he was gay, has signed a 10-day contract Sunday to join the roster of the Nets. 

The signing is a significant step in transforming American professional sports into a welcoming environment for gay athletes. No N.B.A. game has ever taken place with an openly gay player on the floor. The N.F.L., Major League Baseball and the N.H.L. — which round out the continent’s four traditional major sports leagues — have also never had an publicly gay participant. 

The very act of Collins’s suiting up and stepping onto the court, then, would represent a milestone in the effort to change a sports culture that some feel has lagged far behind society at large in acceptance of gay people. Collins was expected be in uniform when the Nets played the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night at the Staples Center.

Congratulations to Jason (and the Nets) for breaking this lavender barrier!

Hmmm! I am not sure where else to file this so I am posting it as a Celebrity Friday article. The daughter of Michael Jordan, 20-year-old Jasmine Jordan, has come out as a lesbian via a posting on the social media site Instagram.

The daughter of one of the most well known basketball players of all time took to social media last month to announce that she is gay, the U.K.’s Pink News reports. 

Michael Jordan’s only daughter, Jasmine Jordan, posted a photo of herself with her girlfriend Tyson-Thomas on Instagram on Aug. 20 with the caption: "This Little Closet Is Holding Me Back." 

When her followers asked her that meant she is gay, she responded and confirmed that she is. 

"Until love, trust, honesty, respect, loyalty, commitment, genuine happiness and other characteristics or aspects I want in a relationship is defined by one gender then and only then will I discuss my sexual preference," she wrote before coming out. 

Jasmine’s girlfriend is a former Syracuse Orange basketball player. Jasmine, 20, is a junior at Syracuse University and majors in sports management.

Hat/tip to Wicked Gay Blog!

Robert Christopher Riley is a 31-year-old African American actor of West Indian descent whose amazing physique caught my eye in his brief role as "Outcome #6" in The Bourne Legacy. Doing some basic internet research (thanks, Google!) I have discovered that he is now best known for his lead role on the hit television series "Hit The Floor" which airs on VH1.

Riley plays Terrence Wall, the star player on the Los Angeles Devils and the show revolves around the adventures and relationships of the players and cheerleaders. Riley has a pretty significant profile on various social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

There's a lot of information about Riley available on the internet, although I have not been able to find his official height and weight. I have discovered that mathematics was his favorite subject in school, which is something one can't say about many of the guys who have been Eye Candy. As a math professor, I approve!

Jason Collins, the newly out gay basketball player, his twin brother Jarron Collins, and their parents will be interviewed on Oprah's Next Chapter this Sunday on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) at 730pm EDT.

Here's a short promo blurb about the show (which is expanded to 90 minutes):

Collins, his twin brother Jarron and several other members of their family will discuss his decision to come out as the first openly gay active male athlete in one of the four major American professional sports. The wide-ranging conversation touches on issues like the global response to Collins' announcement and his hope that coming out will increase dialogue about tolerance and equality for homosexuals in (among other places) the African American community.

It should be great. I'll be in the air at the time but will try to watch it (after I see the new Game of Thrones Episode 6 "The Climb")!

Other sports stars have been responding to Jason Collins groundbreaking announcement yesterday as the first gay male athlete in American professional team sports. American tennis players Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish have joined the organization Athlete Ally, whose mission is to "encourage athletes, coaches, parents, fans and other members of the sports community to respect all individuals involved in sports"


Quoth Andy:

Yesterday was an incredible day for athletes everywhere. Jason Collin’s courage and leadership in coming out reminds me of how important it is for an athlete to be able to be true to him or herself. As an Athlete Ally, I want to support every athlete to feel comfortable and confident being themselves and to make sure that all people - players and fans alike – are welcome and included in tennis.

Other tennis stars like Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King also tweeted their support yesterday.

hat/tip to Joe.My.God

The blogs have been going pretty crazy with the news that Lakers star Kobe Bryant called an official a "f**ing fa**ot" after receiving a technical foul in a game last night.

Kobe issued a statement:

“What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were NOT meant to offend anyone.”

HRC was unhappy that this did not include an apology. Later NBA Commissioner David Stern issued a statement and fined Kobe $100,000.

“Kobe Bryant’s comment during last night’s game was offensive and inexcusable. While I’m fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated. Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society.”

Hat/tip to TowleRoad.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2010 NBA Championships last night by beating the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7. The Lakers came back from a 13-point deficit at the half and only in towards the end of the fourth quarter did they get a lead of more than 2 points.