NBA Player Jason Collins Announces He Is Gay

[klunderbunker]

The story is in SI this week and it was just announced on Sportscenter. Collins is the first active male athlete in a team sport to announce that he's gay. He's 34 and played in two NBA Finals. Collins is a free agent at the moment but played this season with the Wizards.

Thoughts on this in general? Will it lead to more players from other sports? Will Collins be shunned? Will he be accepted?

 

[The Crock]

I think Collins should be proud of himself. Coming out like this was no easy task, but he did it with grace and, more than anything else, his team spirit (and love for the game) shone through in the article. There's no reason that he, as a gay man, should have any trouble finding a job next season. This isn't a star player, it's a guy who plays a bench role, but that doesn't take away from the impact his announcement will have. Jason Collins may turn out to be the face of gay athletes, his announcement may be the push they need to finally come out. It's admirable.

Look, I can't claim to know what the culture is like in NBA locker rooms behind closed doors, but looking at when John Amaechi came out (which is slightly different, considering he was retired), I don't recall seeing much backlash. I don't doubt that there will be a few players who are uncomfortable with the circumstances -- just like there are uncomfortable people in the outside world -- but it shouldn't be something that affects the way they look at Jason Collins as a teammate, nor do I think it will.

Jason Collins did a great thing today and I can only hope more athletes can use the courage that he mustered, and do the same. Being gay is nothing to be ashamed of, nor is it something that should be hidden. Good for Jason Collins.

 

[The Butcher]

Good for him. Also, I'd like to thank him for ending the "who'll be the first openly gay athlete in major American sports" discussion. I don't care who anyone has sex with. It's none of my business. If he can play, he can play. Now America can move along to the next gossipy non-story that's largely irrelevant and not really anyone's prerogative. Calling the Kardashian family.

 

[Big Sexy]

It has already been accepted by basically everyone who has commented on Collins coming out. That includes a lot of current NBA players including some big names like Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. Obviously there will be some players who are uncomfortable with this or who don't agree with the lifestyle but it isn't going to affect his ability to make a team. Overall this is a step in the right direction for all 4 of the major sports in America and I do believe this will lead to more active players coming out.

 

[LSN80]

Brooks Orpik of the Pittsburgh Penguins filmed a local infomercial about gay players in NHL locker rooms, encouraging them to come out and pleading for acceptance and tolerance. His logic, a sensible one, was that these players should be proud of who they are, and that fears of acceptance shouldn't be an issue. I don't know if Orpik was simply referring to players on his own team, hockey players, or athletes in general, but Orpik sent a great example of how an athlete or any employee should behave with regards to finding out their co-workers were gay. It sets a great example, whether you agree with the lifestyle or not.

I think I'm going to reserve judgment on whether other player come out until I see how Collins is received over time. He's received nothing but acceptance so far, but over time, one has to wonder how his teammates will receive him. It's one thing for a player from another team to come out and say 'How wonderful', but how his teammates receive him will be the measuring stick. Collins, currently a free agent, needs to find somewhere to play before we know.

I do think overall that Collins will be accepted, at least publicly. I find it interesting that Collins has been engaged in the past to a female, and has publicly dated women. His brother was shocked when he told him. This says to me that Colins either believed or lived in a culture where he felt generally uncomfortable, or as if he would be shunned. Perhaps that was either the product of a masoganistic locker room, or Collins believed his teammates wouldn't accept him. Or, perhaps, he's a private guy who didn't find the need to come out. Straight players, albeit the majority, don't announce their heterosexuality, so why should gay men theirs?

I don't think Collins will be shunned whatsoever. Irregardless, what he did was a brave thing with regards to major sports. He's not the only gay athlete, bet on that, but he is to be commended. Even risking rejection from others was incredibly risky, but he obviously felt the need to do so, so kudos to him. My hope is that this leads to other players doing so as well, making this less a big deal then it's made out to be. Having said this, I have incredible respect for Collins for doing this, and wish him the best going forward.

 

[Alastor]

He is a career bench player who's main job on teams is to absorb fouls on the other teams good big men. He is at the end of his career. Not really major to know there are gay athletes out there. It would be major news if a gay couple are playing in the same league though.

Before the announcement, he was likely to be cut and not signed by teams next season. Now if he doesn't land a NBA team next year, some member of the media will use it to push their agenda whether pro-gay or anti-gay.

Also, I am appalled that he dated the same woman for 8 years and they even got engaged. He wasted 8 years of the woman's prime and somehow he is a hero for 'coming out'? I call bullshit on that. If he was trying to live a lie, at least don't string another individual along. By all accounts, Collins seem like a stand up guy, but what he did was a douchebag move. Goes to show a good person can do bad things.

 

[CH David]

See, the cool thing about this is I can remain indifferent to the sexuality of people. I don't care if a person, athlete or random Joe on the street, is gay or straight. I don't judge anybody based on their sexuality, I judge them based on the kind of person they are. Are they a good person? Are they a cunt? Do they treat people well or like shit? Just because someone is gay won't change my mind about them. I won't simply root for him because he is gay. If he landed on the Bulls I'd cheer for him all the same. If he landed on the Heat I'd boo the shit out of him. Has nothing to do with his sexuality.

He shouldn't be shunned, it's a ballsy thing to do because you don't know how people will react. Really, as the public it isn't our business to know whether an athlete, or anybody for that matter, is gay or straight. What they do in their own life, as long as it isn't illegal, shouldn't matter.

I can't wait for the day where nobody cares if someone is gay or straight, and we can just care about if they are good people or not. And that we can boo and cheer gay athletes for their performance on the court/field/ice/ and not because they are gay. Those will be the days when equality will truly be here, when nobody gives a thought to the sexuality of someone.

 

[Rayne]

He is a career bench player who's main job on teams is to absorb fouls on the other teams good big men. He is at the end of his career. Not really major to know there are gay athletes out there. It would be major news if a gay couple are playing in the same league though.

Before the announcement, he was likely to be cut and not signed by teams next season. Now if he doesn't land a NBA team next year, some member of the media will use it to push their agenda whether pro-gay or anti-gay.

I've always been suspicious that the first player to come out as gay on a major professional sporting team would be doing it for marketing reasons.

Just five years ago, coming out in the NBA (or any other of the big four) would have been met by tepid acceptance by some, and snide remarks by many. What was great about Collins' announcement was how few people seemed to give a shit. He's gay- and why does it matter? Hecklers are sure to yell '******' at him- and his teammates and surrounding fans will jump to get his back. It won't be 'easy', but it's going to be a lot easier than it would have been a very short time ago.

However, he does seem to be a likely cut. (The website fivethirtyeight.com has an excellent analysis on people with similar numbers to him and their careers going forward. I'm too lazy to link it.) Think of the dollars and cents of this- he is going to sell a lot of jerseys next year. Look at the Jets and Tim Tebow- how much did they pay him just so they could put him in a couple times a game and rake in the merchandising revenue?

Five years ago, I could applaud this with unmitigated vigor. Now, the cynic in me wonders if he came out before someone else could.