For weeks, it has been rumoured that a major active professional sports star would come out of the closet and publicly admit to being gay. On April 29th, 2013, ESPN reported that Jason Collins, who played center for the NBA's Washington Wizards in 2012-13 and is currently a free agent, is that player. Collins has played 12 seasons in the NBA, averaging 3.6 points per game.
The original source of the report is a story in Sports Illustrated entitled "Why NBA center Jason Collins is coming out now". Collins says he first sensed he was different around the age of 12, which is about the time most people enter puberty. He attempted to resist it; when he was younger I dated women, and even got engaged, thinking he could "marry" his way out of it. In his words, "I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue". He says he first started thinking about coming out during the 2011 NBA lockout, but what pushed him over the edge was when Joe Kennedy, his old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told him he had just marched in Boston's 2012 Gay Pride Parade. Although Collins is seldom jealous of others, he felt envious. While he was proud of Kennedy for participating, Collins was also angry that as a closeted gay man he felt he couldn't even cheer his straight friend on as a spectator. He wanted to do what he now considered the right thing and not hide anymore. He wanted to march for tolerance, acceptance and understanding. And so on April 29th, he came out.
The New York Times notes that the NBA has long included programs for training and counseling on gay issues for its teams and players, and that the NBA, NHL and MLB are following suit.
Reaction: NBA Commissioner David Stern issued a statement, saying "As Adam Silver and I said to Jason, we have known the Collins family since Jason and Jarron joined the NBA in 2001 and they have been exemplary members of the NBA family. Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue." Tributes were also forthcoming from Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld and from Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers. Politicos got involved; both the White House and former President Bill Clinton also issued supportive statements, as well as fellow NBA player Kobe Bryant. Human Rights Campaign said that Jason Collins has forever changed the face of sports, but vaingloriously compared it to Jackie Robinson breaking the race barrier in baseball. I'm not sure all blacks are pleased at their civil rights struggle being compared to gays. A series of Tweets from others is documented HERE.
On the other side of the fence, a couple of NFL players took issue with it. NFL receiver Mike Wallace initially Tweeted "I'm not bashing anybody don't have anything against anyone I just don't understand it, All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH", but then backpedaled and Tweeted "Never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don't understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended". Detroit Lions cornerback Alphonso Smith merely Tweeted "Ppl are so sensitive-I have the RIGHT to not give that behavior any applause;I love everyone-don't hate anyone; not praising it! Excuse me!" and "it's a shame I have to apologize for my TRUE feelings." There are also some critical discussion threads on the F2 Anonboard; one criticizing White House support, and another decrying the gay reaction against Mike Wallace's Tweets. One F2 poster wrote "There should be a gay statue of him on the mall. Maybe it could be jason trying to swallow the washington monument".
The Toronto Globe & Mail says this matters because until everyone feels ho-hum about these announcements, it still does. They note that there are still teens who’ve suffered bullying from being perceived as “different”. However, teens have been bullied for a wide variety of reasons over the years, not just sexuality. While I believe Jason Collins is being sincere and not trying to be an attention whore, I just don't see why this matters. I personally disapprove of homosexuality; I consider it an emotional disability. But I don't feel any different towards Jason Collins now that he's out. He's still a qualified professional basketball player, and yes, he's still a man. Overplaying the "gay card" could incur the risk of backlash against gays.
ESPN is running a series of unscientific polls to gauge general public reaction. In response to the question "How surprised are you that the NBA is the first major league with an openly gay athlete?", 45 percent say they're not surprised, while 39 percent say they're somewhat surprised, and only 16 percent say they're very surprised. What would really be surprising is if an NFL player would have been the first to come out, since the NFL has an even more macho image. And in response to the question "What does 34-year-old NBA free agent Jason Collins coming out as gay do to his chances of playing next season?", 58 percent say it would have no major effect, while 28 percent say it will hurt him and only 14 percent say it will help him.
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