Isiah Thomas' Son Zeke Opens Up About Being Gay

Not Trapped In The Closet: Son Of NBA Legend Isiah Thomas Talks About Being An Openly Gay DJ

- By Bossip Staff
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Isiah Thomas’ Son Zeke Opens Up About Being Gay

NBA hall-of-famer Magic Johnson surprised pretty much no one with eyesight when he revealed that his son EJ was gay last year and now in a similar revelation, the son of another NBA legend Isiah Thomas is opening up about his openly gay lifestyle that his family has been aware of for quite some time now.

Isiah’s son, who goes by the name of Zeke and has been tapped to DJ the upcoming 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities, recently sat down with the folks over at Out for a quick chat where he dished on how the NBA has reacted to his sexuality, how his parents reacted and even his long-time boyfriend. Check out what he had to say below.

via OUT Magazine

You think there’s no gay visibility in sports? Well, the out, proud Zeke Thomas—son of NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas—happens to be the official DJ for the annual NBA All-Star game, which will be held in New Orleans in February. THe also DJs club bashes in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and his hometown of Detroit, plus he’s a recording artist/producer.

Musto: Hi, Zeke. Do you find that the NBA is gay friendly?
Zeke
: I do. When Jason Collins came out, my father said to me, “This isn’t something uncommon.” He played with gay players.

He said, “Even in high school, I knew there were gay athletes.” It’s not as big an issue as the media like to make it out: “You’re gonna be shamed in the locker room!”

Were you personally always out?
Zeke
: I came out in 2008, my sophomore year at college. My parents like to say they always knew I was gay. I came out to them, and they were very accepting. I always knew they would be accepting.

Growing up, I had gay uncles, like every kid in America. I never was so scared that my parents were going to shun or disown me—the horror stories you hear. I was just nervous about, “Are my friends gonna accept me?” because I was a jock kid, so to speak, with an athlete father.

I did theater and was in the art scene, but there is a masculine connotation that comes with being an athlete’s kid. Still, I feel like those barriers of masculinity are constantly being broken down and redefined. People like to put labels on everything, and I feel stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason—most of them aren’t true. Even though I’m black and like chicken.

Kinda makes you wonder if EJ and Zeke are friends, right? We’d guess no, since Zeke doesn’t look like the type to carry murses but, hey, you never know. Zeke also spoke on experiencing homophobia in the industry, the pressure of growing up as the son of a popular professional athlete and his boyfriend. Hit the flip to peep the rest of the interview.

You say you were a “a jock kid.” Did you feel you had to live up to some athletic standard because of your father?
In high school, I played basketball, football, and ran track. But my dad never pressured me into those athletics. In fact, when I started doing theater, he was so thrilled about it, and he came to all my shows. I think he came to more of those than the games! He said, “You’re so good at this. You should do this.” So I did! [laughs]

Have you encountered any homophobia in the business?
Zeke: Definitely, and even racism. I had a manager who told me I could never be a big DJ and be openly gay. I thought, “That makes no sense. You can’t hide who you are.” Obviously I no longer work with him.

Moving right along: Do you have a boyfriend these days?
Zeke: I do. I’m very happy. We’ve been together a couple of years. Maybe I’ll get married one day.

Kudos to Isiah for supporting his son unconditionally. Sounds like he raised a great kid.

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