Phoenix Suns CEO Rick Welts, who
resigned last week from his post, says he has had plenty of job
offers since coming out gay.
Welts came out gay in an interview with
The New York Times roughly four months ago, about the same
time as CNN anchor Don Lemon.
He told the paper that he hoped his
coming out would help struggling gay teens.
Shortly after, 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.”
Last week, he decided to leave the
Phoenix Suns to be closer to his partner, who lives in Sacramento.
“The most important thing for me is
to get my personal and professional lives better aligned,” Welts
told the Arizona Republic. “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.”
Yet, Welts recently told gay glossy The
Advocate that his announcement had spurred job offers.
“I probably have had more job offers
in the last five months than I ever have in my life from the most
unexpected places, people who actually found me a more interesting
candidate because of what I had chosen to do.”
“It's been humbling,” he added,
“it's been a little bit overwhelming, but in a very good way. I
think for me the challenge is kind of where from here, what do I do
with this. I can't tell you I have the answer to that.”
Welts has said he's considering writing
a memoir.