Former Jazzman Amaechi to be Grand Marshall of Utah Pride Festival

By Martin Renzhofer
The Salt Lake Tribune Published: April 16, 2007 2:51 pm
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Posted: 2:40 PM- Former Utah Jazz center John Amaechi, who became the first former NBA player to openly identify himself as homosexual, is scheduled to serve as Grand Marshall for 2007 United For Equality Utah Pride Festival, which takes place June 1-3 in Salt Lake City.

Amaechi, who revealed his sexual orientation in his autobiography Man in the Middle, played for the Jazz from 2001 to 2003.

"His ground breaking devotion and personal commitment to empower today's youth and change public perception of the GLBT community, John Amaechi exemplifies the core mission of the Utah Pride Center to be a catalyst for personal growth, acceptance and equality for GLBT people in Utah," said Valerie Larabee, executive director of Utah Pride Center.

Singer Sheena Easton and pop group En Vogue are also slated to appear.

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