Phoenix Suns CEO Rick Welts has
resigned from his post, roughly four months after announcing he's
gay.
Welts told the Arizona
Republic that the decision to leave was personal.
“The most important thing for me is
to get my personal and professional lives better aligned,” said
Welts, a reference to his relationship with his partner, who lives in
Sacramento. “They've probably never been aligned. I'm 58 years
old and it's time to do that.”
“This isn't one of those departures
to see greener pastures. It really is completely a personal
situation. These guys have been tremendously accommodating and any
other inference than that is absolutely crazy.”
Welts came out gay in an interview with
The New York Times at about
the same time as CNN anchor Don Lemon.
Shortly after coming out, Welts told
CNN's In The Arena that he supports gay marriage.
“I look at the word 'equal' and I'm
still looking for that asterisk,” he answered when asked his
opinion on the issue. “I can't really see where that is.”
Welts had roughly 10 months left on his
contract. He will be replaced on an interim basis by general counsel
Jason Rowley.
He added that he's considering writing
a book.