If Lance Bass can admit to being gay, why can't a pro athlete?

Few things must be stranger than being in a hugely popular boy band and having women throw themselves at you constantly, all the while you aren’t interested.

Such appears to be the fate of ‘N SYNC’s Lance Bass, who, aside from having an astronaut fixation, has admitted to People Magazine that he’s gay.

The admission is likely to shock few, but it still couldn’t have been easy for someone with a fan base larger than most. Obviously, he’s taking a huge chance with his future career, especially in movies (remember Rupert Everett?)

So if someone like Bass can take the plunge, will there come a day when an active male professional athlete admits to homosexuality? Do we all seriously believe that there are no male homosexual golfers on the PGA or European Tours?

“I’m not ashamed,” Bass reportedly told People. “I’m more liberated and happy than I’ve been my whole life.”

How many of us know someone locked in the closet? Because the phrase “We don’t care about your sexuality” generally can be translated into “Keep your true self hidden because it makes us uncomfortable.”

Hiding and lying for the sake of others is no way for anyone to live. Not if you’re a pop star, or even a golfer.

–WKW