John Uzoma Ekwugha Amaechi, OBE (/əˈmeɪtʃi/; born November 26, 1970) is an English retired basketball player who currently works as an educator and broadcaster in Europe and the United States.In February 2007, after his retirement from the NBA, Amaechi became the first former NBA player to come out publicly after doing so in his memoir Man in the Middle. Since then he has been regarded as "one of the world's most high-profile gay athletes".
[on Jason Collins] Jason is a free agent now and the biggest impediment to his playing next season won't be his sexuality. It'll be that he's a 34-year-old with lots of wear and tear, competing in a league where every 18-year-old Croation who is 7 feet tall wants a shot. But if he does get a job, he'll thrive. Jason won't cause any discomfort because he's been around. Players know him. He's a thoughtful, considerate guy who will be a mentor to younger players and is exactly the type of athlete we wish we saw on a regular basis.
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[on being awarded the OBE]: Normally the kind of thing you say to this is you're standing on the shoulders of giants. I'm a giant who has literally been propped up by a wonderful family and the people that I work with. So it's like a giant standing on the shoulders of slightly smaller people.
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Fact
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Stockport, Cheshire, England [June 2011]
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He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Sport and to the Voluntary Sector. He is the first Briton to play in the United States Basketball Association. He was also the first NBA player to come out as a gay after his retirement in 2007. Since then, he has become a gay rights activists.