Retired basketballer AJ Ogilvy has shared that he is gay. His announcement comes ahead of the NBL’s Pride round.
Ogilvy opened abut his sexuality in a pre-recorded video with basketballer Issac Humphries. Humphries had his own coming out moment in 2022 when he became the first NBL player to publicly share that he was gay.
The retired played said that basketball had taken him around the globe, but he hadn’t been living his authentic life during his playing career.
Ogilvy shared that he’d married his husband eighteen months ago and they’d been a couple for a large part of his sporting career.
“When I was in Sydney I probably kept it pretty separate.” the sportsman said of his professional life and his personal life. Ogilvy said some of his teammates probably knew about his sexuality, but nothing was ever explicitly said.
During his time at Wollongong Ogilvy said he began to tell some of his close friends that he was gay, and while he was a public supporter of marriage equality he didn’t feel confident to share his own sexuality during the campaign.
The basketball champion said when he was growing up there were no positive portrayals of LGBTIQA+ relationships in the media, and no role models in sport to look up to.
Andrew James ‘AJ’ Ogilvy hails form Sydney and played college basketball in the USA and a short stint with the Chicago Bulls before beginning his professional career in Europe.
He played for teams on Turkey, Spain and Germany before returning home to play for the Sydney Kings in 2013-14 season. The following year he returned to Spain to play for Manresa, but his seaosn was cut short due to injury.
In 2015 he joined the Illawarra Hawks remaining with the club for seven season. During his time with the club he served as Captain for two years. He retired from playing in 2022.
Wildcats win their Pride round game against the Cairns Taipans
On Thursday nights the Perth Wildcats took to the court at RAC Arena facing off against the Cairns Taipans for their Pride round game.
The Wildcats were victorious winning 106 to 69, with a massive lead of 37 points. Coach John Rillie said the team had delivered “a professional effort” to score the team’s fifth win in a row.
The Pride Round game saw RAC Arena display the colours of the Pride flag with the seating arrangements, and there were competitions for fan who displayed their best Pride themed outfit. There was also a celebrity moment with actor Kate Walsh from Grey’s Anatomy fame in attendance.
“Pride Round is about creating a safe, welcoming space for everyone and that’s a value the Perth Wildcats are proud of. We believe inclusion makes basketball better.” the club said ahead of the match.
Yesterday a post about the Pride round drew hundred of negative comments from fans, including blatantly homophobic statements. Followers of the club questioned why many of the posts had been allowed to stay online despite their offensive content.
OUTinPerth approached the Wildcats several times throughout the day to ask about why the comments were not being moderated. We didn’t get a response to our questions, but later in the day many of the comments disappeared and the club posted a statement about removing comments.
“We know not everyone agrees, but we believe inclusion makes basketball better. Hate speech, abuse or discriminatory comments will not be tolerated and will be removed and reported. We’re committed to keeping this a safe and welcoming space for all fans.” the Wildcats said on their social media.
