In coming out in several ways, Bird simply ‘did my thing’
From the time she arrived at UConn in 1998 as a 17-year-old kid, right through two national championships as the Huskies’ unflappable point guard and a couple more in the WNBA with the Seattle Storm, Sue Bird has been known far and wide as a private person.
“I actually don’t consider myself that private,” she said recently as the Storm visited Uncasville, Conn., for last week’s game against the Connecticut Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena. “I know that’s how I’ve been characterized. That’s OK. I just did my thing.”
Her thing now is setting WNBA records. Already the league’s all-time assist leader — 2,774 and counting — she set a record Sunday for most games played, suiting up for her 500th in an 87-74 loss at Atlanta, passing the retired DeLisha Milton-Jones (499).
Bird is proudly out as a lesbian, posing nude in ESPN the Magazine’s the Body Issue in June with girlfriend Megan Rapinoe, equally as famous in her sport (soccer) as Bird is in hers. They are the first openly gay couple to appear on the cover of ESPN’s body issue. Why did they do it? “ESPN asked,” said Bird, 37. “The Body Issue is celebrating athletes’ bodies, different sizes, different shapes . ... For me, it’s a celebration and it’s an honor to be in it. I think it’s more an American thing to look at it differently. And I only say that because, having played with so many different players from different countries, one in particular is Australia, and I saw Lauren Jackson go through this 14 years ago maybe.
“She was on the cover of their magazine (Black+White) where they celebrate Olympians. The first thing her parents said to her was, ‘Way to go.’ There’s something about our culture where they kind of look at it differently. I look at it as a celebration, and it was a no-brainer.”
Bird, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and 11-time WNBA All-Star, essentially has been openly gay for years, not keeping a secret from those close to her. She simply didn’t feel the need to broadcast it, until a year ago Sunday. She has gotten feedback from conflicted members of the gay community, young people struggling with a decision to come out, older people who didn’t feel comfortable doing so earlier in life.
“In every other way, shape and form in my life, I was honest and I was out,” Bird said. “It wasn’t like I was sharing some news that nobody knew. With that being said, I never really knew the difference between coming out in your life and coming out publicly. I was just like, ‘I’m living my life. What’s the difference?’ But in conversation with Megan and other people, I then realized you can have a huge impact, it does mean something, especially in the times we’re living in now.”
Bird joked, “As far as social media goes, I think there were a few male hearts I may or may not have broken.”
In the Pacific Northwest, Bird and Rapinoe have been labeled a new power couple, athletes of international acclaim making bold statements about pride in one’s sexual orientation.
Bird is the oldest player in the league and is playing as well as she ever has in her 16th professional season and three months shy of her 38th birthday.
Bird credits her longevity to taking care of her body over the years.
“A vast majority of it is I completely changed my diet; I completely changed my workout regimen; Stewie (Breanna Stewart) and I work with the same woman, and every day I’m doing something to make sure I’m able to play,” Bird told WNBA.com. “A couple of years ago I just realized, all right, the only thing I can control is really these little things to help my body. A lot of people’s bodies fail on them, and I didn’t want that to happen. So luckily, I found something that works and I’m sticking to it.”
How long would she like to play? She is setting no limits.
“For a lot of players, it’s not that they don’t want to play anymore, or that they get tired of if it or bored of it,” Bird said. “It’s that their bodies give out. … Now we’re in a time where you look at Tom Brady, you look at LeBron James, and that’s all anyone’s talking about. I feel like myself and Diana (Taurasi) especially, we’re starting that trend in women’s basketball. When I turned 30, the first question I got was, ‘How much longer do you want to play?’ And I don’t see why that can’t be when you turn 40. I really don’t.”
“As far as social media goes, I think there were a few male hearts I may or may not have broken.” Sue Bird, joking about one effect of coming out as a lesbian