John Amaechi is an unlikely basketball star.
The former NBA player was raised in England, a soccer-crazy country, and only took up basketball after growing to 6 feet 10 inches as teenager. Amaechi starred at Penn State and then battled Shaquille O'Neal and Michael Jordan while playing for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz. He now appears as a sports commentator back home for the BBC and ITV News.
But Amaechi has become most famous as the first gay NBA player ever to come out of the closet. He announced in February that he is gay, and his recent book, Man in the Middle, chronicles his experiences in a professional sports world that often remains hostile to gay athletes.
Amaechi will speak at Duke Oct. 17 in Page Auditorium about his experience. He also will meet with students and visit a class during his stay on campus.
"I want to live in a way that will perhaps inspire even a few people," Amaechi said in an interview posted on the Human Rights Campaign website. Coming out of the closet was "terrifying," Amaechi admits, yet he says the opportunity to encourage more open, honest conversation is also "a wonderful responsibility."
He is a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project, a program designed to help gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people live openly.
His appearances include Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," National Public Radio and speaking engagements nationwide.
Amaechi also is the founder of the ABC Foundation, which works to expand opportunities both on and off the field for children in Manchester, England. Amaechi, who has two adopted children of his own, lives in London and travels extensively in his humanitarian and philanthropic work.