The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 27, 2005 - 9A
WNBA star
Swoopes
comes out
NEW YORK (AP) - Houston Comets forward
Sheryl Swoopes is opening up about being a les-
bian, telling a magazine that she's "tired of having
to hide my feelings about the person I care about."
Swoopes, honored last month as the WNBA's
Most Valuable Player, told ESPN The Magazine
for a story on newsstands yesterday that she didn't
always know she was gay and fears that coming out
could jeopardize her status as a role model.
"Do I think I was born this way? No," Swoopes
said. "And that's probably confusing to some,
because I know a lot of people believe that you
are."
Swoopes, who was married and has an 8-year-
old son, said her 1999 divorce "wasn't because I'm
gay."
She said her reason for coming out now is merely
because she wants to be honest.
"It's not something that I want to throw in peo-
ple's faces. I'm just at a point in my life where I'm
tired of having to pretend to be somebody I'm not,"
Swoopes said. "I'm tired of having to hide my feel-
ings about the person I care about. About the per-
son I love."
A release from ESPN The Magazine about the
story did not disclose the identity of Swoopes'
partner.
A five-time All-Star and three-time Olympic
gold medalist, Swoopes is the WNBA's only three-
time MVP. She played for the Comets during their
run of four championships from 1997-2000, but
missed the 2001 season with a knee injury.
She said her biggest worry about her revelation is
that people will be afraid to look up to her.
"I don't want that to happen," she said. "Being
gay has nothing to do with the three gold medals
or the three MVPs or the four championships I've
won. I'm still the same person. I'm Sheryl."
Swoopes led the WNBA in scoring last year,
Junior Kevin Dore finished tied for 17th at the 49er Collegiate Classic in Concord, N.C., earlier this week.
Coffergt roughcn&tions
By Michael Schneider
For the Daily
Gusting winds and bitter temperatures
may come to mind when describing a
late-season football game at Michigan
Stadium.
Or, if you're the Michigan men's golf
team, it's what you had to deal with at this
week's tournament in Concord, N.C.
Twenty mph winds and temperatures that
hovered around 50 degrees posed an added
obstacle to the 83 players who competed in
the 49er Collegiate Classic on Monday and
Tuesday.
But even with the undesirable condi-
tions, there was still a golf tournament to
be played.
Senior standout Christian Vozza did not
compete in this week's event. He is con-
tinuing to nurse a sore shoulder that forced
him out of last week's Alister MacKenzie
Invitational.
Despite his absence, the Wolverines still
finished in the top half of the field, taking
sixth in the field of 16 teams.
1 But the team's finish came with a bit of
disappointment after a fantastic first day
that had Michigan in second place.
"We played poorly today," coach
Andrew Sapp said through the athletic
department. "Unfortunately, the tough
weather conditions and the winds really
got the better of us."
Brian Ottenweller continued his recent
strong play, finishing as the Wolverines top
competitor for the second week in a row.
The sophomore shot a three-round total of
226 to finish in a tie for 12th overall.
It was the first time all season that Mich-
igan didn't have one of their own place in
the top 10.
Four other Wolverines also made the trip
down to the Tar Heel state.
Junior Kevin Dore finished in a tie for
17th, posting a total score of 228. Brandon
Duff, the only senior to compete for the
Wolverines this week, finished in a tie for
35th. Sophomore Tim Schaetzel and fresh-
men Bill Rankin rounded out the Michigan
field, finishing in ties for 42nd and 52nd
place, respectively. Only Rankin shot his
lowest score of the tournament on the rather
unpleasant final day.
It seems that home-field - or more
aptly home-course - advantage has its
way in golf, too.
Host Charlotte didn't allow any other
team to get close to them, leading from start
to finish and winning by an impressive 20
strokes. Even the Wolverines, who were in
second place behind Charlotte after the first
day, were still a distant 10 shots away.
This is the last event that the team will
compete in until February. The season is
divided into fall and spring segments.
Sapp was disheartened by his team's final
performance of the season.
"It's a bad way to finish the fall because
the fall was so good," Sapp said. "It kind of
leaves a bitter taste in our mouth since we
played so well these last two months."
But, the Wolverines do have a few posi-
tives to take away from their last tourna-
ment of the year.
"We had some record shooting scores, we
won our own tournament, we had an individ-
ual (Christian Vozza) win a tournament, and
we had a lot of other guys finish in the top
10 and top five," Sapp said. "We made some
great strides this fall, and hopefully we can
build on that in the spring season."
With over three months to practice and
the anticipated return of a healthy Vozza,
the team's expectation of an even more suc-
cessful spring appears to be a very realistic
possibility.
AP PHOTO
Sheryl Swoopes, the WNBA's MVP, came out to ESPN
The Magazine yesterday that she is a lesbian.
averaging 18.6 points. She also averaged 4.3 assists
and 2.65 steals while making 85 percent of her free
throws and playing a league-high 37.1 minutes a
game.
She said it "irritates" her that no one talks about
gays playing in men's sports, but that it's become
an issue in the WNBA.
"Sexuality and gender don't change anyone's
performance on the court," she said. "Women play
just as hard as guys do. We're just as competitive."
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