Seton Hall's Derrick Gordon says it's all about basketball now
DENVER — On Thursday, Seton Hall guard Derrick Gordon will become the first openly gay men’s basketball player to play in the NCAA tournament.
Just don’t try to convince him there’s anything newsworthy about it.
Gordon came out two years ago, while he played at the University of Massachusetts. His sexuality was a story then, and that he and his Seton Hall teammates don’t consider it to be one now should be considered progress.
“I would hope so. I mean, I'm not the one to judge. I know who I am. Everybody knows,” Gordon said Wednesday as his team prepared for its first-round game against Gonzaga. “I'm not out to prove anything. I know what I have to do. I know my skill level. I mean, it's just going out there and doing what I know how to do with my teammates.”
Since transferring to Seton Hall for his senior year, Gordon has declined most interviews that focused on his sexuality. Here in Denver for the NCAA tournament, he was one of three Pirates players brought to the interview podium. He politely answered three personal questions, and later in the locker room, answered a handful of others. There, he was introspective about why he made his decision to come out two years ago.
“There were a lot of kids out there who were killing themselves, or people who stopped playing their sport because they felt they didn’t fit in or whatever it may be. So hopefully me coming out could help them out in many ways. Looking at me playing at a top Division I school and being in the NCAA tournament, they could be like, ‘OK, if he can do it, I can do it,” Gordon told a small group of reporters, according to Yahoo Sports.
But mostly, here in Denver, Gordon’s story is about basketball, and his role as the lone senior on the Pirates roster. He was a starter at his previous two schools, Western Kentucky and Massachusetts, and a role player off the bench here. The decision to transfer and play out his final year of eligibility was all worth it to wind up here, in the NCAA tournament on a team capable of making a significant run.
“Coming off the bench thing didn't really affect me," Gordon said. "I'm a winner. Regardless if I would have started coming off the bench, it really doesn't matter to me. I embraced the role and took advantage of it."
FIRST OPENLY-GAY HOOPS COACH COMES OUT
