Sheryl Swoopes Gay Revelation Pays Off

It pays to be gay. Just ask Sheryl Swoopes.
The WNBA hoops star came out of the closet this week and stepped right into the money by announcing a high six-figure endorsement deal with San Francisco's lesbian travel company, Olivia.
Sadly, Swoopes' sexuality was major news around the country, triggering commentary from coast to coast. If America is still in the stone age of gender politics, the sports world is positively Pleistocene.
Personally, I couldn't care less who she's running the pick and roll with. To me, Olivia was the story.
How does a relatively small San Francisco travel outfit manage to be there, side by side, with a major sports star at such a momentous and personal moment?
Pretty simple, says Olivia's CEO, Amy Errett. The company helped set the whole thing up.
It all came together back in August, at a basketball game in L.A.
The Houston Comets were in town to play the Los Angeles Sparks in a WNBA matchup that featured some of the league's brightest stars. There was Lisa Leslie, the willowy star center for the Sparks. And Chamique Holdsclaw, L.A.'s high-scoring forward.
Houston countered with their All-World forward, Swoopes, a charter member of the league and three-time MVP who's made the Comets a force to be reckoned with since she got there in 1997.
Also on hand was Errett, who was there on a mission.
"Sheryl was actually booked on one of our trips," said Errett, talking a mile a minute on her cell phone from the Houston airport one day after Swoopes' big announcement.
"I looked into it and asked if Sheryl would want to talk to us. We had wanted to endorse a WNBA athlete for some time. But we didn't really have a vehicle to make that contact."
I guess it pays to check the manifest.
Sure enough, the 6-foot star agreed to meet with Errett and they had dinner after the game, a 55-50 loss in which Swoopes dropped 18 on the Sparks.
"I met her for dinner and that was it," said Errett. "We just had to work out some financial details, and what her role would be."
And just like that, Olivia had orchestrated a national media event that would give it huge visibility. But is that the only reason Swoopes was coming out? The New York Times reported this week that Swoopes had filed for bankruptcy last year.
If this was all about the money, some might find the whole thing a bit icky, no?
Not surprisingly, Errett was ready with an answer: "This is a personal decision that Sheryl made. We didn't convince her to do that. We've been in business for 33 years embedded in the lesbian community. I don't think this was an act of making money. This was an act of advocacy.
"The difference between Olivia and other companies is that everything we do is in the purpose of advocacy," Erret said.
"The last time I checked, a successful company that can give back to the community is a powerful asset. I don't view that as a hypocritical."
And one more thing, said Errett, firmly: "People don't come out unless they're ready."
I guess Olivia would know. It's been catering to lesbians for 33 years, offering cruises and adventure vacations that encourage patrons to "feel free." Things are going so well that Errett says the company is planning a retirement community for lesbians in Palm Springs.
Some of that success can be chalked up to its savvy use of endorsements to get attention. Even if you're not a lesbian cruiser, chances are you've heard of Olivia. It made national news when the company sponsored golfer Rosie Jones' coming out party two years ago. Shortly after that, Martina Navratilova signed on to pitch Olivia trips.
The company sends the celebrities on cruises, hoping to attract customers. Swoopes herself will join Navratilova and the Indigo Girls on a cruise to Mexico in a few weeks.
"For Olivia, it's really, really smart," said David Paisley of Community Marketing Inc., a San Francisco marketing firm that specializes in gay and lesbian clients and has done business with Olivia in the past. "They have a history of tying sponsorships into news that affects the lesbian community. It's smart."
Sounds like it. Errett says Swoopes has signed a one-year deal in the high six figures. That's peanuts in the endorsement world.
I suppose there will come a day when you don't have to call a news conference and explain to the world that you are who you are. Until then, Olivia will be there to capitalize.
from San Francisco Chronicle