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. 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