Celebrated WNBA player Sheryl Swoopes is not just famous for her spectacular WNBA career but also for publicly acknowledging her sexual orientation after separating from her ex-husband, Eric Jackson.
Sheryl Denise Swoopes is a former professional basketball player who was born on March 25, 1971, in Brownfield, Texas.
Swoopes has won three Olympic gold medals, becoming one of eleven women’s basketball players to have won an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup gold, and a WNBA title.
Sheryl Swoopes’ Ex-Husband Was Her High-School Sweetheart!
In 1995, WNBA and Olympic star, Sheryl Swoopes tied the knot with her high school sweetheart Eric Jackson.
The couple welcomed their son, Jordan Eric Jackson, in 1997. Sadly, in 1999, Sheryl separated from Eric.
While Sheryl never mentioned the reason behind the couple’s split, she announced that she was homosexual in October 2005.
After this courageous action, she became one of the highest-profile athletes to publicly disclose their sexual orientation.
“it doesn’t change who I am. I can’t help who I fall in love with. No one can. … Discovering I’m gay just sort of happened much later in life. Being intimate with [Alisa] or any other woman never entered my mind. At the same time, I’m a firm believer that when you fall in love with somebody, you can’t control that.”
Sheryl Swoopes
Before this, the WNBA marketed Swoopes with a very different image to put a heterosexual face on its promotional campaign.
While many fans saw her public acknowledgement as heroic, it also negatively impacted the image of the WNBA league.
“The talk about the WNBA being full of lesbians is not true. There are as many straight women in the league as there are gay. What really irritates me is when people talk about football, baseball and the NBA, you don’t hear all of this talk about the gay guys playing. But when you talk about the WNBA, then it becomes an issue. Sexuality and gender don’t change anyone’s performance on the court.”
After publicly acknowledging her homosexuality, Swoopes disclosed her romantic relationship with Alisa “Scotty” Scott.
Furthermore, Swoopes revealed that she had been dating Scott since 1998. The couple co-parented Swoopes’ son, whom she had with her ex-husband Eric.
Alisa Scott was a former basketball player and assistant coach for the Houston Comets. The couple quickly became an IT queer couple in the WNBA league.
However, the highly anticipated queer relationship came to an end as Swoopes and Scott broke up in 2011.
Sheryl Swoopes’ Current Husband, Chris Unclesho Maintains A Low Profile
But later that year, Sheryl made everyone shocked by announcing her engagement to her long-time male friend, Chris Unclesho.
Eventually, after a 6-year long engagement with Chris, she married him on July 21, 2017. Her marriage with Chris intrigued a lot of people, as Swoopes previously identified as a lesbian.
But now that she married a man, people started making various assumptions and speculations regarding her sexual orientation. Later, everyone concluded she was bisexual.
Besides his relationship with Sheryl Swoopes, not much is known about Chris Unclesho’s background or personal life.
Even though the couple tried to keep their relationship a secret, they were spotted together at various events.
However, this article claims that Unclesho is an artist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist by profession.
Recently, news about Sheryl divorcing Chris has started surfacing over the internet. However, there is no legitimacy in such news.
Regardless of Swoopes’ dating history, she will be forever remembered for her contributions to making WNBA and other sports accepting of the LGBTQ+ community.
Moreover, Swoopes’ courage, resilience and dedication towards her career have undoubtedly inspired women of all walks of life, to never give up.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Sheryl Swoopes played basketball from a very young age with her three brothers.
- At age seven, Swoopes began participating in a local children’s league called Little Dribblers.
- Her son, Jordan Eric Jackson, played college basketball in Maryland and is a guard for the Windy City Bulls.
