with the kobe/joakim faggot incidents, the suns ceo coming out, the suns gay as a slur isn't cool commercials, the kid from nova coming out, the time was right..

and then the lockout came.

mike mussina summed up the issue of gay athletes best:

During last week's Piazza drama, in fact, Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina was asked if he would accept a gay teammate. He replied, "I'm going to make the assumption that I already have."