02/15/04 8:11 pm EST

Gay Athletes

Jennifer Woo, www.sports911.com

When we think of gay athletes, the first one who comes to mind is Mike Piazza, then there is Olympic gold medalist diver, Greg Louganus (fitting name I must say all things considered). 

Not that there is anything wrong with being gay.  Sure, Jenny prefers them straight, and so do sports fans and associates based upon Piazza's refusal to admit the obvious.  Once the hair turned blonde, we all knew. 

My gaydar was on the day a bartender at Grove Restaurant disclosed to a Sports911 staff member that Piazza frequents the Greenwich Village establishment complete with an entire entourage of pretty boys. 

Gay athletes are not likely to be embraced any time soon. 

"I'm not gay. I'm heterosexual," New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza exclaimed in denial to recent accusations of his homosexuality printed in the New York Post.

Sure you're not Mike.  We believe you.  But aren't we all born heterosexual?  Besides which you're probably not gay anyway, I like to think of you as "Bi" myself.

No athlete has "come out" of the closet so to speak.  The letters, the threats, the questions such as "How was it keeping the secret all this time?" would follow the athlete for the rest of his or her life. They would no longer be known as an athlete. They would be a "gay athlete," just like many use the term "black quarterback." Mike Piazza is far from the only athlete suspected of being a pillow biter.  Let's take a look at some others and my own personal gaydar rating I've applied to each

Kordell Stewart - (Gaydar Rating: 6) Imagine having 200 plus pounds of muscular flesh on top of you (a girl can dream can't she?).  Too bad I can't dream about Kordell Stewart courting me any time soon as Jenny's gaydar has him ranked a solid "6" on a scale of 1 through 10. 

Rumors about his sexual orientation have been rampant among Steeler fans for years. 

And Kordell doesn't deny the rumors either, he simply refuses to discuss the subject. 

Jeff Garcia - (Gaydar Rating: 4) He's living in San Francisco, what do you expect? 

"I've heard the rumor myself that I'm gay," Garcia said in an interview with Matt Maiocco, 49ers beat writer for the Santa Rosa Democrat conducted the week of the 49ers' final game of the regular season. The story was published Wednesday (Feb. 4).

"That is not the case. I've had girlfriends in the past and I do want to be married some day. ... Somebody saying it obviously doesn't have any clue as to who I am as a person and, secondly, speaks from a sense of having jealousy for what I've been able to attain as a person and is trying to knock me. Well, they're not knocking me."

There has been much speculation as to Garcia’s sexual orientation since he became the team’s starting quarterback in 1999. Most of it centers on his mannerisms and voice, which have set off the gaydar of many a fan.

No homo can throw a ball that far though.

And now former teammate Terrell Owens has come forward to tell Playboy in response to questions about Garcia's sexual preference: "Like my boy tells me: If it looks like a rat and smells like a rat, then by golly, it is a rat."

Kazuhito Tadano - (Gaydar Rating: 7) Starring in a gay porn and having guys go down on the itsy bitsy one eyed kazuhito don't necessarily mean one is gay.  The guy claims he did it for the money! 

Thankfully Kazuhito doesn't speak English so no explanation to an American legion of fans is hardly necessary. 

Isiah Thomas - (Gaydar Rating: 9) Maybe it's those fruity pink ties, coupled with the way he stands, speaks and his mannerisms that has Jenny's Gaydar shoot up a few notches. 

This former athlete is now the General Manager of the New York Knicks and he's doing a fine job thus far I might add. 

Dennis Rodman - (Gaydar Rating: 8) He dressed up as the bride with his marriage to Carmen Electra, need I say more. 

Mike Piazza - (Gaydar Rating: 10) I figured you'd want to know where he hits on the gaydar range.