John Amaechi

John Uzoma Ekwugha Amaechi, OBE (born 26 November 1970) is an English-American psychologist, consultant and former professional basketball player.

He played college basketball at Vanderbilt and Penn State, and professional basketball in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Amaechi also played in France, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

Since retiring from basketball, Amaechi has worked as a psychologist and consultant, establishing his company Amaechi Performance Systems.

The 6ft 10in, 270 lb center was undrafted and then signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1995.

Amaechi became the first undrafted player to start in his first NBA game as the Cavaliers' starting center, Michael Cage, did not play in the season opener due to injury.

Amaechi played 28 games for the Cavaliers during the 1995–96 season, then played for two years in Europe – for Cholet and Limoges in France, for Virtus Bologna in Italy, Panathinaikos in Greece and Sheffield Sharks in the United Kingdom.

In September 1996, he won the FIBA Intercontinental Cup with Panathinaikos, being the highest scorer (alongside Fragiskos Alvertis) in the team with 59 points in three games of the tournament.

In the 1997–98 season he played with Virtus Bologna but left mid-season.

He returned to the NBA, signing with the Orlando Magic in 1999.

In the 1999–2000 season he averaged 10.5 points in 21.1 minutes per game.

Amaechi was known for turning down a $17 million contract offer from the Los Angeles Lakers in 2000, opting to remain in Orlando for $600,000 per year.

Amaechi also explained why he played for Orlando in 2000 for much less than the $17 million offered to him by the Lakers; his answer was that Orlando had signed him in 1999 when no other team would.

"There are many people who are asked what their word is worth, and when people ask me that I can say, 'At least $17 million.'"

Amaechi went on to play for the Utah Jazz from 2001 to 2003.

He was traded to the Houston Rockets before the 2003–04 season in exchange for Glen Rice, and, though he was an active player, he did not participate in any games for them.

The Rockets later traded him and Moochie Norris to the New York Knicks for Clarence Weatherspoon before the Knicks bought him out of his contract and he eventually retired from playing the sport altogether.

Amaechi came out of retirement to represent England during the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, helping the England team win the bronze medal.

In all, Amaechi appeared in 18 games for England.

He has worked in the media, particularly as a commentator on basketball for British TV shows covering the NBA, and for the BBC during Olympic games.

In February 2007, Amaechi became the first former NBA player to publicly come out as gay after doing so in his memoir Man in the Middle.

Since then, he has been regarded as "one of the world's most high-profile gay athletes".

Amaechi was born in Boston in the United States, to an English mother and a Nigerian Igbo father.

He and his two younger sisters were raised by their mother in the Heaton Moor suburb of Stockport, England, with him attending Tithe Barn Primary School before moving on to the Stockport Grammar School, the second oldest grammar school in the north of England.

He first played basketball at the age of 17, coached by Joe Forber, whom he has described as a father figure.

He then signed for the short-lived Manchester United, now known as the Manchester Eagles His form for Manchester United saw Amaechi move to the United States to play high school basketball at St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo, Ohio.

He began playing college basketball at Vanderbilt but transferred to Penn State, where he was a two-time First Team Academic All-American selection.

While at Penn State, Amaechi became a motivational public speaker and a mentor for area youth.

In February 2007, Amaechi spoke about his sexuality on ESPN's Outside the Lines program.

He also released a book, Man in the Middle, published by ESPN Books, which discusses his career and life as a closeted professional athlete.

In addition, Amaechi was a judge on the BBC Series The Speaker in 2009.

He has also been a regular guest host of the BBC Radio Manchester Business show with Steven Saul and has appeared on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz on ESPN Radio as a guest and guest co-host.

Amaechi owns Amaechi Performance Systems, which is a consultancy working with numerous companies to improve leadership and communication skills and organisational diversity.

Amaechi is a member of the American Psychological Association, the British Psychological Society (BPS), the BPS Division of Organisational Psychology and the BPS Psychological Testing Centre.

Amaechi also became a Senior Fellow at the centre for Emotional Literacy and Personal Development at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) in the United Kingdom.

Amaechi is also involved with the ABC Foundation in Manchester, which encourages children to become involved in sports and their communities by building youth sports centres throughout the United Kingdom.

The first such facility, the Amaechi Basketball Centre, was built in Manchester, not far from Amaechi's childhood home of Stockport.

The venue is also home to the English Basketball League's Manchester Magic (men) and Manchester Mystics (women), both of which are owned by Amaechi.

In a radio interview, Amaechi said that he was returning to school to get a PhD in psychology.

"I want to do something more meaningful in my life," he said.