The NBA still hasn’t had a true superstar player come out as LGBTQ, but that shouldn’t stop the straight players from supporting gay people through their business ventures and by using their voices.
Reggie Miller has cemented himself as a great example. The Indiana Pacers legend has been a public figure in the basketball world for four decades. Since his retirement from the Pacers, Miller has stayed relevant on TV by announcing games for TNT and now for NBC.
Miller posted a very pro-LGBTQ message on his Instagram this week. He has taken up cycling as an active hobby in retirement and uses his platform to encourage his fans to get involved and speak up for diverse communities.
Miller’s cycling gear reads “BOOM BABY” in Pride rainbow colors, and he gave a link for fans to buy the Pride gear off of his Castelli Cycling storefront. All of the proceeds will support the Equal Justice Initiative.
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The EQJ helps people who have been wrongly convicted of crimes they never committed. It’s a dual-threat fundraiser for Miller, showing his commitment to helping both LGBTQ people and wrongly convicted people throughout America — sometimes both at the same time.
His support for both at the same time shows an understanding of these complicated social dynamics affecting persecuted people.
Fans were touched by Miller’s message, replying in the comments with positive responses. One person told Miller:
“I can’t get across to you how much it means for people like me (i’m gay and i live in a really really homophobic family and community) to see our favorite athletes doing this. just standing up and saying something is making a difference. thanks reggie & u looking clean as always my man!!”
Considering we’ve talked a lot about homophobic people like Tony Dungy in the NFL always spewing hatred towards gay people, Miller doing the opposite is an important demonstration, and the NBA will continue to be held up by the LGBTQ community..
Perhaps Miller’s ties to women’s basketball make this matter more to him. His famous sister, Cheryl Miller, never played in the LGBTQ-friendly WNBA, but she remains a pioneer of women’s basketball, a sport that is strongly associated with queer athletics.
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