Rick Welts resigns as Phoenix Suns president

PHOENIX—Rick Welts, the first openly gay executive in American professional sport, announced on Friday he will resign as president and chief executive of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns for personal reasons.

Four months after revealing he was homosexual, Welts told the Arizona Republic that he was leaving in part because of a new relationship with a partner who lives in Sacramento, California.

“I’m at a point in my life where my focus is to align my personal and professional life in a way I’ve never been able to achieve before,” Welts said.

“The most important people in my personal life are not in Phoenix and the Suns have been completely understanding and supportive of my request to leave in advance of the end of my contract.”

Suns managing partner Robert Sarver said Jason Rowley, the club’s general counsel, will handle business matters while the team searches for a replacement with Lon Babby remaining the president of basketball operations.

The NBA is currently in a shutdown mode, with club owners having locked out players on July 1 when their old collective bargaining agreement expired. Talks are under way on a new deal with training camps set to open in less than a month and the season set to start on September 1.

Welts, 58, said he was pleased with how he was received after his revelation last May.

“The response from fans, co-workers, players and ownership of the Suns to my announcement has been the most gratifying experience of my life, one for which I will forever be grateful,” Welts said.

Welts had his first NBA post as a youth, retrieving basketballs for the Seattle Supersonics in 1967, and he spent 17 years working in the NBA office in New York, leaving in 1999 as a vice president and chief marketing officer.

“The entire Suns organization thanks Rick for his tireless work on behalf of the Suns,” Sarver said. “While he will be missed, we understand his desire to relocate outside of Arizona for personal reasons.”