Posted on 04/29/2013 11:24:02 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Two weeks ago we were writing about a terrorist attack, today we’re writing about gay basketball players. A blogger’s life for me, my friends.
Easy prediction: 75 percent of the public will be casually supportive or casually disapproving but either way almost entirely indifferent. Fifteen percent, including lots of pols, celebrities, and the media, will support him enthusiastically. The other 10 percent will hassle him on the court or from the stands either because they dislike gays or just to spite the 15 percent of “opinion leaders” on the other side. Collins will get a standing O at his first home game next year — if he ends up being signed — and some fans on the road will get nasty with him when he fouls someone too roughly. He’ll do a few ads. Then, after a few months, with rare exceptions, everyone will get bored with it.
By its nature, my double life has kept me from getting close to any of my teammates. Early in my career I worked hard at acting straight, but as I got more comfortable in my straight mask it required less effort. In recent days, though, little has separated “mask on, mask off.” Personally, I don’t like to dwell in someone else’s private life, and I hope players and coaches show me the same respect. When I’m with my team I’m all about working hard and winning games. A good teammate supports you no matter what.
I’ve been asked how other players will respond to my announcement. The simple answer is, I have no idea. I’m a pragmatist. I hope for the best, but plan for the worst. The biggest concern seems to be that gay players will behave unprofessionally in the locker room. Believe me, I’ve taken plenty of showers in 12 seasons. My behavior wasn’t an issue before, and it won’t be one now. My conduct won’t change. I still abide by the adage, “What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.” I’m still a model of discretion…
Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start. It all comes down to education. I’ll sit down with any player who’s uneasy about my coming out. Being gay is not a choice. This is the tough road and at times the lonely road. Former players like Tim Hardaway, who said “I hate gay people” (and then became a supporter of gay rights), fuel homophobia. Tim is an adult. He’s entitled to his opinion. God bless America. Still, if I’m up against an intolerant player, I’ll set a pretty hard pick on him. And then move on.
The most you can do is stand up for what you believe in. I’m much happier since coming out to my friends and family. Being genuine and honest makes me happy.
Collins technically isn’t the first active player from a big-four sport to be openly gay, he’s the first active player to go public with it. (Glenn Burke, an outfielder for the Dodgers and A’s in the 70s, was out to his teammates and coaches but didn’t announce it publicly until after he retired.) Early reaction is what you’d expect:
Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 29, 2013
NBA commissioner David Stern releases statement supporting Jason Collins twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/s…
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) April 29, 2013
Jason Collins’ team @washwizards: “We are extremely proud of Jason and support his decision…” twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/s…
— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) April 29, 2013
The White House:
“Here at the White House we view this as another example of the progress we’ve made and the evolution that has taken place,” press secretary Jay Carney said when asked if President Obama had a statement on Collins. Carney said he had not talked to the president directly about Collins.
And the Big Dog:
Former President Bill Clinton on Monday congratulated NBA center Jason Collins for becoming the first openly gay male American professional athlete.
“I have known Jason Collins since he was Chelsea’s classmate and friend at Stanford. Jason’s announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community,” Clinton said in a statement.
It’s early yet, though. Someone in some league somewhere inevitably will say something disapproving, whereupon he’ll be shredded in the press until he formulaically apologizes.
By the way: None of this is a surprise, and Collins almost certainly isn’t the the only active big-four athlete who’ll be out by the end of summer. NFL player Brendon Ayanbadejo told the Baltimore Sun on April 5 that “up to four players” were discussing whether to come out on the same day, to take the heat off of each of them individually. There’s been endless whispering in the media over the last month about MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL preparing for this sort of thing. Advertisers have been preparing too, with Nike practically dangling cash in front of gay athletes to get them to speak up:
Nike asked Welts to deliver a message to anyone thinking about becoming the first openly gay athlete in major U.S. team sports — the company wants him as an endorser.
“They made it clear to me Nike would embrace it,” Welts, 60, now president of the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors, said in a telephone interview. “The player who does it, they’re going to be amazed at the additional opportunities that are put on the table, not the ones that are taken off.”…
“We’ve passed the tipping point to where national advertisers are no longer afraid of the gay market,” said Mark Elderkin, chief executive officer of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Gay Ad Network.
That calculus would be complicated for a superstar, especially in a sport like football, but not for an average aging player like Collins. So this is really just phase one: Now there’s a man on the court whom everyone knows is gay, but who doesn’t draw much attention otherwise. Phase two will be when an all-star, who carries his team, comes out. How much more pressure will he deal with from teammates and fans?
Exit question from DrewM: If people want to boo someone for their personal lives, why not boo these guys?
Update: That was fast. Dolphins WR Mike Wallace apparently tweeted “All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH…” That tweet’s now gone, per TMZ, replaced by this:
Never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don’t understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended
— Mike Wallace (@Wallace17_daKid) April 29, 2013
Update: Like I said, the other leagues are preparing.
The baseball world voices its support for @jasoncollins34: atmlb.com/ZLYgwk
— MLB (@MLB) April 29, 2013
“Bingo and the left propaganda machine will be harping on this”
I guess the obvious is too much for some people.
All of the “who cares people” are oblivious to the 24/7 propoganda aimed at their children and can’t see that THEY are the useful idiots.
Children raised by “gay couples” produce a higher rate of self-identified gays. Hmmm, why would that be? Can anyone say “normalization?”
The last 15 years things have really sped up but for anyone under the age of 18 they have been inundated with this pro-gay agenda since birth.
Older people have times past to compare it to. We grew up with Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch. Your kids are growing up with Glee, Ellen, and Modern Family.
So don’t complain when...
This guy's mediocre but lengthy pro basketball career is coming to an end anyway. He is 34 years old. So, yes, he could possibly play the homophobia card should he be unwanted by any team in the NBA next year. But he also realizes that "coming out" now at the tail end of his basketball career creates commercial opportunities as a "celebrity" that he wouldn't have had otherwise. Amazing that he's gone from relatively obscurity (a bench player on a bad team) to the idol of left-wing political types literally overnight.
Wouldn't be surprised if his agent set this up for him and will take a percentage of whatever is be gotten from the "coming out" party.
I can’t argue with anything Paul Washer said. He is, by the way, among my favorites. I have learned so much from him. Last year my wife and I went to Central America, an anniversary trip. I loaded up my iPad with numerous Christian teachers and books. In the end I spent most of my time listening to Paul Washer sermons downloaded from sermonaudio.com.
The MSM is dancing in jubilation. It will lead all their newcasts, it will be in the front of their papers, and it will be at the time of their webpages. They won’t just report that he says he is gay. They will celebrate it, and woe unto those who will not join in their celebration. They will search far and wide for tweets/facebook postings of other athletes like Mike Wallace, and they will lambast them the furor of a mob with pitchforks if they object at all.
Chris Broussard just said on ESPN that homosexuality is a sin..about damn time someone said it in the media..I am no fan of Broussard since he trashes my Lakers but I respect him for speaking the TRUTH about homos..Jason Collins was a has been player who played on 6 teams and was crappy player. I have been a fan of the NBA for practically my entire life and I had to go back in my memory bank to even remember who this fool is..he wants to be a fudge packer, good for him..but you will see how the left spins this, making him some kind of national hero for being a fag..since most blacks are against homosexuality the left will say how more blacks have to embrace it since their fellow NBA player came out
NBA TV had it as “Breaking News” LOL..breaking news..NBA player likes to suck cock..must be a really slow news day..guess those people in the hospital who got their arms and legs blown off by a terrorist are no longer worth discussing
1) There is no gay gene, and 2) the parts don’t fit.
No idea, I just assumed he was banging multiple chicks and caught a diseased one.
Thanks for the condolences watching yesterday’s game was BRUTAL..but hoping for a better season next year..How Magic got AIDS, probably from screwing a bunch of different women..or that supposed rumor that he was doing it with Isaiah Thomas who knows..but one of the two is probably true
His son just came out this month.
Magic Johnson’s son discusses sexuality
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/magic-johnsons-son-discusses-sexuality-182045345—spt.html
The 20-year-old son of NBA Hall-of-Famer Magic Johnson said in a YouTube.com video that he’s surprised by the interest in his being homosexuality, since he told his family years ago.
In an interview posted Tuesday on the YouTube.com talk show “Gwissues,” Earvin Johnson III said he wasn’t upset when the web site TMZ recently revealed that he’s gay.
“I always wanted to come into the spotlight,” he said. “I always had dreams and plans of doing my own thing and creating my own image, so it came a little sooner than I thought it would, but this is still something I knew I would be going through and would have to experience.”
I was going to say something about that, and you're probably correct: in general there's more opposition to homosexuality in the black community (and more opposition to the gay agenda) than there is among whites. That would likely translate into a less welcoming environment for a known homosexual player in the NBA than in other pro sports.
Yes, I saw that. Does the son play basketball at all?
I don’t have a clue. I don’t follow sports.
Could be, but female to male transmission of the AIDS virus is rare.
In 2008 we had Prop 8 in California..my brother has a few black friends, and even though they voted for Obama they voted FOR Prop 8..they are against gay marriage..for some reason they will vote Dem but don’t care that the Democrats are for gays..if this has been wanted to become famous he has done it..I was watching ESPN..which I call BSPN and they were getting tweets from the Red Sox saying how “proud” they are of Collins and how he can have the opening pitch anytime he wants..its getting ridiculous..yeah he’s a fudge packer..WHO THE HELL CARES..the left loves making these buffoons into national heroes to promote their agenda
Fotflmao...well, maybe not mao in this case.
“WHO THE HELL CARES..”
The leftist propaganda team thanks you for your support.
He is openly gay? How late does he stay open?
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