John Amaechi

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John Amaechi bigraphy, stories - Professional basketball player

John Amaechi : biography

November 26, 1970 –

John Uzoma Ekwugha Amaechi, OBE ( 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".

Post-NBA career

Amaechi came out of retirement to represent England during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, helping the England national basketball team win the bronze medal. In all he made 18 caps for England.

Amaechi now has a portfolio career as a broadcaster, consultant and academic, working on coverage of a weekly NBA basketball game on UK television channel Five and providing co-commentary for the BBC at the 2008 Olympic Games in addition, Amaechi was a on the BBC Series The Speaker in 2009. Amaechi is also a regular guest host of the BBC Radio Manchester Business show with Steven Saul Amaechi owns , which is a consultancy working with numerous bluechip brands to improve leadership and communication skills and organisational diversity.name=Helen Connor at Amaechi Performance Systems info@amaechiperformance.com John is a member of the American Psychological Association, the (BPS),Public Registration number 222511 the and the . Amaechi also became a Senior Fellow at the centre for Emotional Literacy and Personal Development at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in the United Kingdom.Dr Stephen John Wintersgill, IP Manager, Knowledge Transfer, UCLAN, Preston Lancs, PR1 2HE

Amaechi is also involved with the in Manchester, which encourages children to become involved in sports and their communities by building youth sports centres throughout the United Kingdom. The first such facility, the Amaechi Basketball Centre, was built in Manchester, not far from Amaechi’s childhood home of Stockport.Mark Woods, , Britball.com, August 2002. The venue is also home to the English Basketball League’s Manchester Magic (men) and Manchester Mystics (women), both of which are owned by Amaechi.

In a radio interview, Amaechi said that he was returning to school to get a Ph.D. in psychology. "I want to do something more meaningful in my life," he said. Amaechi also explained why he played for Orlando in 2000 for much less than the $17 million offered to him by the Lakers; his answer was that Orlando had hired him in 1999 when no other team would. "There are many people who are asked what their word is worth, and when people ask me that I can say, ‘At least $17 million.’", The Brian Lehrer Show, WNYC, New York, February 20, 2007.

Amaechi served as a commentator with Mike Carlson during the 2012 Olympic basketball tournament.

Playing career

The 6 ft 10 in, 270 lb (208 cm, 122 kg) center was signed undrafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995. He played 28 games for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 1995–1996 season, then played for two years in Europe (France: Cholet, Limoges; Italy: Kinder Bologna; Greece: Panathinaikos; UK: Sheffield Sharks). In the season 1996–1997 he played for Panathinaikos BC. In September 1996 he won the Intercontinental Cup, being the first scorer (alongside Fragiskos Alvertis) of Panathinaikos BC with 59 points in the 3 games of the tournament (18,23,18 pts). In 1997–1998 he played with Kinder Bologna but left mid-season before the Italians won the Euroleague.

He returned to the USA, signing with the Orlando Magic in 1999. With a solid 1999–2000 season, where he averaged 10.5 points in 21.1 minutes per contest, he gained fame for scoring the NBA’s first points in the year 2000. Before speaking publicly about being gay, Amaechi may have been best known for turning down a $17 million contract offer from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, opting to remain in Orlando for $600,000 per year. Amaechi went on to play for the Utah Jazz from 2001 to 2003.