April 30th, 2013 → 5:42 am @ // No Comments

“No legacy is so rich as honesty.” – All’s Well That Ends Well

Congratulations, Jason Collins, for coming out yesterday as “an NBA center…black, and…gay.”  Apparently he’s the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport.  I hadn’t known there weren’t any before.  Shows how little I follow sports.  But it also shows how behind the game they are on this…why’d it take so long?


3 Comments → “Jason Collins”


  1. Chris Clark

    10 years ago

    Lots of players have come out, but only after they retired from their respective sports. Collins announcement is notable around the notion that it may help open the doors for more players to be out of the closet while playing. Unsurprisingly, this has been a much bigger issue for male athletes than for female athletes (at least, in the U.S.).

    Just my personal opinion, but I think it’ll be a bigger deal when there are NFL players who are openly gay while playing. Obviously I can’t speak for the differences at the professional level, but in high school and college, the environment in a football locker room is decidedly different from that in a basketball locker room.

    Reply

    • Lea

      10 years ago

      You make a really good point regarding the distinction between football and other sports. Given the caveat again that I don’t know much about sports in general, I agree with you. So who’s it gonna be who finally comes out in the NFL? Any guesses?

      Reply

      • Chris Clark

        10 years ago

        My only would be that lots of teammates, folks who “knew him when”, members of the media, etc will respond with something akin to, “We never would have guessed …” There doesn’t seem to be any apparent similarity of background, etc. amongst the retired NFL players who’ve come out after the fact, so I really have no idea.

        Reply

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