Portland State coach Murrell out there on her own

Sherri Murrell, Rena Shuman and twins Rylan and Halle

Are we dating ourselves if we bring up Irena Cara's song from "Fame," "Out Here on My Own"?

That's what jumps to mind when we read the interesting story from the Oregonian on Portland State coach Sherri Murrell (rhymes with squirrel), the only publicly gay coach in Division I women's basketball. We assumed there were a lot of others because, well, there are a lot of others. But apparently, Murrell stands alone.

Coming out clearly hasn't hampered Murrell's ability to compete. The Vikings have gone 83-46 in her five seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament in 2010. Last season, Murrell earned Co-Big Sky Coach of the Year honors.

"There are a lot of coaches out there that want to do this," said Murrell, raising twins with her partner Rena Shuman. "But they're just so afraid. I think I can kind of help say, 'Hey, I'm successful. It has not affected my program whatsoever.' "

We look forward to the day when this kind of news isn't news anymore and are hopeful it will come sooner rather than later.