 Amaechi played for England at last year's Commonwealth Games |
English centre John Amaechi has become the first NBA star to publicly announce that he is gay. Amaechi, 36, who retired three years ago, makes the statement in his autobiography, Man In The Middle, which is being released on 14 February.
He is the sixth professional male athlete from one of the four major US sports - basketball, baseball, American football, ice hockey - to come out.
All waited until they had retired before revealing that they were gay.
Amaechi, who was born in Massachusetts but grew up in England, played 301 NBA games for four teams over five seasons.
He began his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995-96, then spent a few years playing in Europe.
He rejoined the NBA to play for the Orlando Magic from 1999-01, then played two seasons for the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz traded him to Houston, who traded him to the New York Knicks.
He retired in January 2004 but returned to help England win the bronze medal in last year's Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
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John Amaechi's hook shot drill