Category: Media and society

John Amaechi, former NBA player, comes out

John Amaechi, British import to the NBA, recently publicly declared he is gay. His story is fascinating and his plans for British basketball are ambitious. Watch this video for more information on this interesting fellow. There is a Wikipedia entry about him as well (…raised by his mother, you know what that means…). His first TV interview on this subject will be on ESPN’s Outside the Lines program at 9:30am, 2/11/07.

David Jones, a Patriot-News writer who knows Amaechi from his Penn State University days provides an in-depth report.

His disclosures and the ESPN coverage is sure to raise the profile of homosexuality in sports. Watch the video on the ESPN website about the possible prevalence of gay athletes and the issues raised if a current player came out of the closet.

UPDATE: 2/17/07 – In a move toward Donnie Davies, NBA star Tim Hardaway disparaged gays in an interview and is reaping what he sowed. He later apologized but has been banned from All Star weekend.

I thought Mary Buckheit had an appropriate response.

CNN segment on Ted Haggard

I may add some additional comments later but I wanted to post the transcript of the Anderson Cooper CNN segment (scroll a bit over half way down the page) this evening regarding Ted Haggard’s rehabilitation.

The report was quite interesting with several points worthy of discussion. I felt Alan’s tone and responses were reasonable and quite consistent with the sexual identity paradigm. The stance of the Human Rights Campaign representative was less so in my judgment.

COOPER: Mark, you know people who have been through this kind of therapy. Some call it reparative therapy. In your experience, does it work?

SHIELDS: Again, absolutely not. Every bit of evidence we’ve seen is that it does not work. And at the Human Rights Campaign, we believe the only choice there is about being gay is, you know, whether or not you choose to be open and honest about it, if that’s how you were born.

I think that people have the choice that they can try and hide that or try and deny that piece of themselves, but ultimately, that’s not healthy for them or for their loved ones.

COOPER: But Mark, if someone is not happy being gay, as Alan clearly wasn’t as a child, what’s wrong with him trying to change?

SHIELDS: You know, again, the mental health professionals tell us that, in trying to change or fix something that’s not broken, you can actually cause a great deal of harm to yourself and ultimately to those that are around you.

You know, I wonder if Ted Haggard had been told as a child that it was OK to be gay and that he could have a rich, full life, if his life story wouldn’t have been less painful and contorted

Here is an example where the Shidlo and Schroeder study of possible harm relating to reorientation is referred to but not cited. Also, the real picture regarding research on etiology of sexual orientation and outcomes of sexual identity integration efforts is of course much more complex than depicted by Mr. Shields.

Another interesting point was the agreement between Alan and Mr. Shields that being gay does not preclude happiness. When I said this in the October, 2006 LA Times article regarding the NARTH controversies, I was the target of some conservative fire. I wonder how things will go for Alan.

Donnies Davies Update

This morning, SOVO covers the ongoing antics of Donnie Davies.

In related news, Donnie Davies has a sweet, new retro look about his websites today. I have exchanged several YouTube grams with Donnie and he continues to insist he is not the “twin” of Mr. Oglesby. In our 1/29/07, unverified WTF report on this blog, we reported the possibility that Mr. Davies and Mr. Oglesby are really twins separated at birth.

In those YouTube grams, Mr. Davies has some interesting things to say about the recent episode and has asked me some interesting questions. I hope to get a statement from him soon.

This from the Love God’s Way website with the “hot new look.”

The Exciting New Look of Love God’s Way

Friends, corporate called me and was concerned about our image. They Blessed our humble Ministry with this hot new look. We hope you will explore. All the attention and new followers has corporate very, very excited. Stay tuned. We have a lot of hot stuff coming down the pipe, including the new Evening Service music video, the C.H.O.P.S. program and a exciting new therapeutic cartoon series.

Corporate? Therapeutic cartoon series? I think I’ll stop now.

UPDATE – 2/3/07 – Joey Oglesby has updated his Myspace blog with this message:

Joey on Donnie Davies

I , joey oglesby, have recently been identified as the fundamentalist preacher and songwriter Donnie Davies. I am very aware of the uncanny similarities in our appearance, including a very unfortunate chicken pox scar in between my eyes. Also, while we are both big fans of lists, his deals with gay bands while mine is a comprehensive list of ladders. However, that is where the similarities end. For instance, my Mom will tell you that I am much skinnier and more handsome than him. Also he can dunk a basketball, where as, I cannot. Although, in interest of full disclosure and to prevent further confusion, I can touch the rim and have a wicked sweet jump shot.

Most importantly though, our messages are vastly different. Donnie’s message seems to be one of hate and intolerance, where as mine, is of love and acceptance. Ultimately, it is my opinion that the message Donnie Davies conveys and the prejudice inherent in it do indeed exist in this world. Although i disagree personally with Pastor Davies, it seems his video has sparked some much needed dialogue. And for that i am grateful. But, it is ultimately the difference in our messages that makes me, Joey Oglesby, and him Donnie Davies, two very different people.

Joey Oglesby

[email protected]

So is this a way of saying: I am not a hater, but I play one on TV?

I guess this WTF exclusive must now be retracted…

UPDATE: 2/7/07 – A new message on the Evening Service website begins to signal where the Donnie Davies saga is heading. God hates everyone…

Venus Magazine publisher no longer identifies as lesbian

The Windy City Times has this story about the religious conversion of publisher Charlene Cothran and her intent to make Venus Magazine take an ex-gay focus.

Venus Magazine, a publication that for 13 years targeted the Black gay and lesbian community, is now a voice for the ex-gay movement.

Its publisher, Charlene Cothran, recently announced that she has been “redeemed”; is no longer a lesbian; and is changing the mission and direction of the magazine. On the Web site she writes, “As the publisher of a 13-year-old periodical [ that ] targets Black gays and lesbians, I have had the opportunity to publicly address thousands, influencing closeted people to ‘come out’ and stand up for them selves, which is particularly difficult in the African-American community.

“But now, I must come out of the closet again. I have recently experienced the power of change that came over me once I completely surrendered to the teachings of Jesus Christ. As a believe of the word of God, I fully accept and have always known that same-sex relationships are not what God intended for us.”

This story reminded me of David Benkof’s story (then David Bianco). His return to Orthodox Judiasm led to the sale of the “Q Syndicate” and a significant life change. The last time I talked to David, he continued in his religious studies and pursuit of heterosexuality.

PS – I did not realize when I posted this that this story is old news, first reported in 10/06.

UPDATE: 2/9/07 – Ms. Cothran’s magazine has a blog with some current commentary about her changes.

Donnie Davies and Joey Oglesby: Long lost twins?

A Weirder than Fiction Exclusive…

Dallas, Tx (WTF) – A touching and bittersweet reunion was held here today in Dallas between local actor, Joey Oglesby, and recently famous Internet musician and youth pastor, Donnie Davies. Mr. Davies and Mr. Oglesby believe they are identical twins separated at birth and have lived in the same state off and on for most of their lives.

Mr. Davies has recently become a Internet sensation with his music video, The Bible Says, which uses epithets offensive to gays throughout the song. The video and song created a firestorm in blogosphere and set off a hunt for the elusive Mr. Davies. The search for Mr. Davies led to Dallas actor, Joey Oglesby due to their uncanny resemblance. Mr. Oglesby insists he is not the enigmatic Mr. Davies.

Instead, the men think they are twins.

“I always thought I had a twin,” said Mr. Oglesby. “You know it’s just a feeling you have, then out of nowhere, Donnie ends up in my own back yard.”

Mr. Davies said, “Texas is a big ol’ state, much bigger than the state of New Orleans, where I lived for awhile. I’m excited and elated to meet my brother Joey. I hope this answers all my critics out there and will stop the heinous censorship of my videos.”

Twin expert, Dr. Joakim Bottoms, is intrigued. “We are awaiting DNA testing, but they sure look alike. And there are other similarities too. They both have a preoccupation with homosexuality, they are about the same build, are musical, like Cyndi Lauper and they both can dunk a basketball. That’s a combination of abilities you don’t see everyday.”

Mr. Oglesby is half of the famous Chicken and Pickle Guys comedy duet which has been described as “a comedy stew of dance, homophobic/gay experimentation, male chauvinism, obscure racism, and spiritual revelation.”

Mr. Davies similar controversial work can be seen at Donniedavies.com.

Joey Oglesby

Joey Oglesby

donnie davies

Donnie Davies

UPDATE: 1/31/07 – Donnie speaks about his recent trials. Strangely, he fails to mention Joey.

Read all posts about Donnie Davies…