HOUSTON — Kenneth Faried simply is who he is.
In a league full of pretense and ego, Faried comes off as genuine and a guy being himself. All the time. You saw it on the All-Star Friday Night when in the Rising Stars everyone was playing half-speed except the “Manimal” — Faried played the way he always does and dropped 40.
It’s the same off the court, the things that matter to him matter a lot.
So when a Colorado lesbian and gay political advocacy group asked Faried to speak about equality for them in a video, he didn’t hesitate. Then he asked the group if he could bring his two mothers, since they were in town.
What he did was create a video that had a lot of the sports world buzzing.
To Faried, all he did was be himself and speak from the heart.
“They didn’t ask me any questions, they just said ‘can you tell us your story?’” Faried said. “And when you ask me that I pour my heart out. How I found out about the situation, how at first I was ‘Okay, what is this?’ and then I learned. I basically was ignorant then I became very informed.”
In the macho and too-often homophobic world of team pro sports, the video put Faried out in front on the issue. He now works with Athlete Ally, an organization working directly with the NBA and other pro sports leagues to raise awareness and end homophobia in sports. It’s all added to Faried’s popularity.
Faried doesn’t really care about that.
“I don’t do it for the attention, I don’t do it for the notoriety,” Faried said. “I do it because I just genuinely really care about people’s rights. And just because you’re the same sex or if you are the opposite sex you should have the right to do what you want, and choose what you want to do.”
Sports can sometimes mirror life. Faried didn’t face the same kind of obstacles his moms have, but he faced plenty coming out of Morehead State, a school that last produced an NBA player in 1970. But when Faried broke Tim Duncan’s NCAA record for most rebounds in a career, teams took notice. Scouts loved his energy — and energy translates to the NBA — but questioned his skills and what he could do.
So they tested him hard in workouts before the draft.
“People were testing my skills and I surprised a lot of people because I can do certain things,” Faried said. “Because in college I played zone, they were shocked I could really guard people and guard guards — guards couldn’t like get around me as easily as they thought they would.”
Oh, and he can shoot a little too, he’s more than happy to tell you.
Speaking with him in an Adidas lounge (the shoe company sponsors him), I asked Faried about the three pointer he dropped Friday in the rising stars game. He had never even attempted one in an NBA game, mostly because coach George Karl would have benched him before the ball got to the rim.
Now he’s got proof in video form to show coach.
“I’ve got it planned out, I’ve already got it on my phone,” Faried joked. Well, mostly joked. “I’m going to say ‘hey, listen: corner threes.’ That’s all I want.”
He said it all with his infectious smile. Because that’s just who he is.
