In the sports world, front-office maneuverings aren't often discussed around the water cooler as much as an athlete's performance the night before. But that changed this week when the Golden State Warriors hired openly gay basketball executive Rick Welts as the team's president and chief operating officer. Readers may recall that Welts came out publicly in May on the front page of the New York Times, when he held a similar position with the Phoenix Suns. He left that job a couple weeks ago and told reporters Tuesday that he hadn't planned to return to the sport he loves until he received a call from Warriors managing partners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber.
The rest, as they say, is history.
It seems like a great fit for Welts, 58, who has about 40 years of experience in pro basketball – from being a ball boy with the Seattle SuperSonics to working for the league and building the NBA brand around the now-popular All-Star Weekend to his executive positions with the Suns and now the Warriors.
Welts was introduced to the Bay Area media at a press conference Tuesday and, from a review of the coverage, he made a good first impression. The hiring also reflects well on Lacob and Guber, who bought into the team last year and are rebuilding the organization. The Warriors haven't been to the playoffs in several years, and fans are clamoring for improved performance. Welts has the management experience to make that happen.
"Whether he's straight or gay is irrelevant," Lacob said. "I wanted the best person. All I care about is winning, and he is simply the single best executive we could have hired for this job."
Welts also seems to be comfortable with himself since his coming out story was reported. He took the job, he said, because it would allow for him to "align my personal and professional lives." His partner, Todd Gage, lives in the Sacramento area, he said, and he wanted to move closer to him.
There are several things Welts can do to help professional sports, particularly basketball, break down barriers regarding gay issues. Whether it be players tweeting homophobic slurs or athletes making anti-gay taunts on the field, such incidents are all too common in today's hyper media environment. Athletes, many of whom earn several million dollars a season, seem to believe they are entitled to bash gays. The whole culture of professional sports is ripe for an intervention, and Welts can certainly do his part for the NBA. Having an openly gay man at the top of an organization is the most visible aspect.
But at the press conference, Welts said that he didn't think he needed to specifically address his sexuality with the team. "I don't think there's much mystery about it," he said. "The front page of the New York Times is a pretty good place to publicize it." We would urge him to reconsider that stance. At the same time, he also said that he believes a culture of silence permeates sports. What better way to break that silence than to talk with the team? Some players (and coaches and other personnel) may have questions or may just want to ask Welts what it's like to be out in pro basketball. He said that by his being out he hoped to "elevate the quantity and quality of discussion." That would seem to indicate that a conversation with the team is warranted.
He also didn't say anything about adopting a zero tolerance policy for homophobic slurs in practices and in the locker room – areas that are often away from the glare of the media and the places that such comments are most often made without thought. That, too, is an area that Welts should address.
Just this week, the National Hockey League declined to intervene when Philadelphia Flyers player Wayne Simmonds was apparently captured on video calling New York Rangers player and marriage equality advocate Sean Avery a "fucking faggot" during a preseason game. The NHL decided not to get involved because there was no audio, according to a petition started by the Courage Campaign that urges the league to reverse its decision.
Such resistance on the part of league officials to take action when something like this happens is all the more reason Welts can set a powerful example in the NBA.
We'll be watching.