Derrick Gordon Discusses Decision to Transfer to Seton Hall

Derrick Gordon, the former Massachusetts guard who became the first openly gay player to compete in a men's Division I college basketball game in November after coming out in April 2014, has opened up about his decision to transfer to Seton Hall for the 2015-16 season.  

Per Matthew Stanmyre of NJ Advance Media, Gordon said that he's not going to Seton Hall as a way to make any kind of political statement about religion or politics:

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I mean, I'm there for basketball. All that other stuff is irrelevant to me right now. I was going in there basing my decision on how can they use me, what they need me for and then going from there. I wasn't necessarily looking at it being a Catholic school because regardless of wherever you go, there are always going to be people who talk about you.

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This comment stems from the recent dismissal of Seton Hall campus priest Warren Hall, for what he claims was due to a picture he posted on Facebook supporting the "NoH8" equality campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, per Jerry Carino of the Asbury Park Press. 

Speaking to Scott Gleeson of USA Today, Gordon said he expects the move to Seton Hall will "be a smooth transition" because the coaching staff talked about the situation with current players "and they said, 'as long as he helps us win, we're gonna be his brother.'"

Gordon echoed those sentiments to Stanmyre, saying "nothing is going to change," and he's "still going to be the same person."

Stanmyre also wrote that Gordon found the transfer process to be "more difficult than he expected." No programs were mentioned by name, but "some schools in need of guard help had no interest, and others seemed hesitant to take him on."

Gordon sounds happy to be at Seton Hall. He's certainly a valuable addition to the Pirates program after averaging 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game with UMass last season.

The 23-year-old has one year of eligibility left and will be able to play immediately since he is a graduate transfer, earning his degree from the University of Massachusetts earlier this month. Gordon would have tied for third in scoring among Seton Hall players last season, so he will make the program better on the court.