Part of that was the environment in which I grew up,” he says.“My big career break was at Queen Anne High School in English lit class with Earl Woodson, who was the coolest kid at QA High because he was a ball boy for the Seattle SuperSonics,” Welts recalls. By Julie Garner | Photo by Rick Giase Welts had good reason to worry.

In addition to Welts, only former NBA player John Amaechi has come out and that was when he published his memoir in 2007, three years after his career was over.There was no sports executive model for Welts to follow but he had reached a point where he wanted to lead “a more authentic life.” “The question I had to wrestle with was, ‘Is there some larger good that can come of it?’ rather than just making a personal decision about myself, and that’s what I’m really happy about,” says Welts.Rick Welts’ personal journey began in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood, where he grew up as the son and grandson of a long line of Huskies. “And basketball games.” Welts’ early years in Seattle gave him the necessary weather-hardened credentials to return to the Emerald City.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP. Any time I wanted, I could go down there and shoot hoops on the Sonics’ floor. Let me make this extremely clear: The Warriors strive every day to provide a comfortable and professional work environment for all … FILE – General manager Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors celebrates with the crowd during the Golden State Warriors Victory Parade on June 12, 2018 in Oakland, California. “I wasn’t very happy that I would be living my life this way. “There was a sense of exhilaration that there were other people out there like I was,” Welts says.Meanwhile, Welts—who had been fascinated with broadcast journalism from an early age—was pursuing a degree in communications.“I really had a love of television that stemmed from my dad taking me down to KING-TV to watch After he graduated from the UW with his bachelor’s degree in communications, the Sonics brought him onboard full-time as public relations director. “It was great being in a frat, tremendous, because of the friendships that developed sharing the UW experience,” he says.But he was still experiencing a personal crisis over his sexual orientation. Rick Welts’ personal journey began in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood, where he grew up as the son and grandson of a long line of Huskies. Hopkins was fired and replaced by Wilkens, who led the team to the NBA Finals that and next season, winning the NBA title in 1979.In 1982, Welts left Seattle with a one-way ticket to New York City to join the NBA’s headquarters. “My impressions of gay people came through the media,” he explains. At that point in my life, it was something I wished I could change. / Archives for Rick Welts net worth. We think it does.

Welts later worked at the NBA's league offices from 1982 to 1999, eventually rising to the positions of executive vice president, chief marketing officer and president of NBA Properties. newspaper archive.LeBron James criticises 'not educated' Daryl Morey over NBA vs ChinaThe irony and hypocrisy of those slamming LeBron's Morey commentsThe $1.4billion Chase Center - the new home of the Golden State Warriors Why Zion Williamson will overshadow LeBron James in rookie seasonNBA news: 7ft 7in star Tacko Fall signs two-way contract with CelticsRick Welts, Chief Operating Officer and President of the Golden State Warriors “We love that continuity and we have all of our other people there at the same time. FILE – General manager Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors celebrates with the crowd during the Golden State Warriors Victory Parade on June 12, 2018 in Oakland, California.

See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, I didn’t feel anything like that and that was part of the isolation and discomfort.” Mercifully for Welts, that discomfort dissipated after he met a fellow student who lived in a fraternity like he did.