Daily News on Gordon

[Halldan1]

To replace Gibbs, Seton Hall lands 1st openly gay D-I hoops player

By Zach Braziller

May 17, 2015 | 9:34pm

Derrick Gordon Photo: AP
Seton Hall replaced Sterling Gibbs Sunday afternoon with UMass graduate transfer Derrick Gordon, the first openly gay men’s basketball player.

The Plainfield, N.J., native, who played for powerhouse St. Patrick alongside NBA players Kyrie Irving and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, came out last year and enjoyed a solid season, averaging 9.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Gordon, who is eligible immediately, is a much-needed piece, a rugged defender, and selfless teammate who should mesh nicely with rising sophomore guards Isaiah Whitehead and Khadeen Carrington.

The 6-foot-3 guard broke the news on Sunday, tweeting: “It’s been a long recruiting process…But happy to say I will be going to Seton Hall University!!!…Can’t wait to play for Coach [Kevin] Willard.”

Gordon met the team on Sunday, a source said, before make his commitment.

“As long as I’m accepted, that’s all that really matters to me,” he told WSOU, the school’s radio station.

Gordon said Jason Collins, the former Nets player who became the first openly gay NBA player, inspired him to come out. Gibbs, Seton Hall’s leading scorer last season, announced his decision to finish his career at UConn on Saturday.

The news of Gordon’s arrival comes at an interesting time for the school and its athletic department.

The Rev. Warren Hall announced on Twitter Friday morning he was fired as the school’s director of campus ministry for supporting the “NOH8″ campaign on his Facebook page. Hall was a chaplain for many of Seton Hall’s athletic teams.

The campaign began as a silent protest of California’s passing of a proposition that amended that state’s constitution to ban gay marriage in 2008.

http://nypost.com/2015/05/17/to-replace-gibbs-seton-hall-lands-1st-openly-gay-d-i-hoops-player/

 

[Halldan1]

Apologizes. NY Post story not NY Daily news.

 

[Halldan1]

Here's the Daily News Story.

Derrick Gordon, first openly gay D-I basketball player, transfers to Seton Hall

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS STAFF
Sunday, May 17, 2015, 10:41 PM

Steven Senne/AP
Derrick Gordon, Division I's first openly gay basketball player, transfers to Seton Hall.

Derrick Gordon, the first openly gay player in Division I college basketball, is transferring to Seton Hall.

The Plainfield, N.J., product announced his move on his Twitter account Sunday afternoon.

“It’s been a long recruiting process...But happy to say I will be going to Seton Hall University!!!...Can’t wait to play for Coach Willard.”

Gordon, who had been playing at UMass, came out last April, following the announcements of Missouri linebacker Michael Sam and former Net Jason Collins.

Gordon’s decision comes two days after Rev. Warren Hall, a campus priest who ministered to the school’s athletic teams, was fired.

Hall tweeted on Friday he was “fired from SHU for posting a pic on FB (facebook) supporting LGBT NO H8. I’m sorry it was met with this response. I’ll miss my work here.”

The school said the Newark Archbishop John Myers made the decision.

Gordon, speaking on the school’s radio station Sunday night, said he was aware of the firing, but felt comfortable on the South Orange campus.

“When I visited the campus today everybody made me feel comfortable,” Gordon told WSOU. “I was there with my family. They made me feel comfortable to the point where it was a safe environment, even with the situation that happened with the priest two days ago. It felt like a family environment, and that was very big for me in my book. The visit went better than what I expected.”

Gerry Broome/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gordon averages nearly 10 points, five rebounds and three assists per game last season.

The 6-3 guard, who played his high school ball at St. Patrick’s in Elizabeth, described the transfer as a “win-win situation.”

“It’s about 25 minutes away from my house. The Big East is one of the top conferences in the country,” said Gordon, who also has played at Western Kentucky. I’ll be able to go there and play to my full potential that I know I can. I couldn’t be happier.”

Gordon told USA Today on Sunday that he was not being recruited by some schools because of his sexuality, but that was not the case at Seton Hall.

“As long as I’m accepted, that’s all that really matters to me,” Gordon told the radio station. “We’re all in a society now where there are people who accept it and people who don’t accept it. Regardless of where I go, it’s always going to be like that.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/c...openly-gay-player-transfers-article-1.2226011