Almost any time a well-recognized national figure comes out of the closet is a time to celebrate for the gay community.

On Feb. 7, former Utah Jazz center John Amaechi joined a very small list of nationally recognized male sports players who have announced they are gay. Amaechi is one of six professional athletes to come out as a gay man, and is the first – and only – NBA athlete to do so.

The NBA reacted positively to his self-outing – former NBA MVP Charles Barkley pledged his support immediately – until former NBA All-Star Tim Hardaway decided to put in his two cents in regard to Amaechi on a Miami radio show.

“I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don’t like to be around gay people,” he said when asked whether he could play on the same team with a gay man.

Hardaway released a public apology immediately.

I fully believe Amaechi’s intentions in coming out are respectful and helpful to the gay community and the gay rights cause, especially in a time when gay marriage and same-sex domestic partner benefits are in the national consciousness. I just wish Amaechi’s method was a little better.

Coming out after retiring is hardly unprecedented, but taking this route in declaring one’s homosexuality only confirms what a heterosexist society wants to hear: That being gay is shameful and that a person has to sacrifice their identity to succeed in society.

This sentiment is shared by Outsports.com co-founder Jim Buzinski, who in a Feb. 8 Associated Press article said “It’s a shame all gay people can’t turn green for just one day, so everybody’s jaw would drop, and then maybe we could move past a lot of this stuff.”

What really needs to happen – and this applies to all gay public figures, not just NBA stars – is for gay public figures to simply be out of the closet, fanfare not included.

This would benefit the gay community because it would make society recognize that gays and lesbians are everywhere and in every profession. The more national figures that come out, the more comfortable society can be with a lifestyle that, for some reason or another, has been deemed unnatural or unhealthy.

But according to the American Psychological Association, it certainly isn’t unnatural or unhealthy.

The circumstances surrounding a male professional athlete coming out are a few notches trickier than, for example, an actor such as “Grey’s Anatomy” star T. R. Knight, considering how much weight society puts on the masculinity of male athletes.

“It’s a testosterone-riddled group, and it’s not just the NBA. It’s professional sports,” Amaechi told ESPN in an interview.

I agree. You see, America likes its stereotypes to be consistent and easy to categorize. Just look at the fervor surrounding “Brokeback Mountain” – what could upset middle America more than the idea of two cowboys necking?

But who ever said that a gay man cannot be masculine? Who ever said being gay has a negative impact on his or her athletic performance?

Luckily, at least one professional athletic organization shares the same view.

“I don’t think anybody would care [about Amaechi]. . . other than how he was performing,” said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello in the AP article.

Now all we need is a gay athlete brave enough – and committed enough to the gay rights cause – to come out of the closet while in an athletic profession and show America that, yes, gay men can play sports.