Gay Bodybuilder Bob Paris: Vintage Photos and Oprah Update

Gay bodybuilder Bob Paris earns the distinction as the first professional athlete, in any sport, to come out in public while still in competition. He did so in a 1989 interview with Lonnie Teper of Iron Man magazine. Here's an excerpt from that interview:

Iron Man: In addition to the normal stresses you’ve talked about, you’ve had something tormenting you over the past few years. You’ve been private about it to date with the media, but now I understand you finally want to clear the air.

Bob Paris: Yes, I do. We’ve been talking about my life and things that have happened since 1983. In all the other times I’ve ever spoken in interviews, I’ve always skirted around in certain issues like my family. I’ve been protected by the bodybuilding media. The pressures that have been there came from a lot of different directions. You talk about going from the amateur to the pro level, but it was much more than that.

I’m gay. However, my burden is not my gayness but that I was raised by my family and by society to hate myself for being gay. I grew up being taught to dislike the person I really was. It was a very difficult cycle to break out of.

John Amaechi Boyfriend or Partner and His Straight Allies

Does former NBA basketball player John Amaechi have a boyfriend or partner? If he does, he is keeping it private because we haven't come across any mention of any John Amaechi boyfriend on the interwebs.

Wouldn't it be cool if he dated Lance Bass? Hehe. They sure look good together in this photo: