NBA C Jason Collins comes out as gay

[The Six]

You can have an opinion, but you don't know any better than anyone else why it was timed like it was. Something tells me you'd have carried the same attitude whenever he did it anyway.

How could I have the attitude that he purposefully waited until the end of his career to do this....if he did it while still in his prime? The point is that this ultimately means nothing. It will take a young player doing this, when he'll have to endure a whole season going from city to city, to have a real effect and set an example.

[monkeypower]

This is fantastic news for the country. Good for him.

I wouldn't read anything into online comment sections - those tend to attract the absolute worst element on even the most benign of topics.

Exactly. You could have an article about the best pizza in whatever city and it would turn into liberal media this, religious right that, global warming blah blah blah conspiracy it's Obama's fault it's Bush's fault you're an idiot no you're the moron etc.

Scary that such people exist, but that's the world we live in.

One person person mentions something religious in a video or a article and comment wars start. The atheists are acting like super-scientists that can disprove everything while the religious people are acting like they are the second coming of Christ and know exactly what the Bible means.

Same with politics as you said.

BTW I'm a Catholic and I have nothing wrong with gays, atheists or any people of the sort. I can't speak for political arguments as I don't follow that as much, but most religious arguments and wars start from people taking the Bible or the Qur'an or whatever they follow too literally. (Westboro Baptist, Al-Qaeda, comments on the internet, etc.)

Ron Paul 2012, Obama is the anti-Christ, Bush and Jay-Z run the Illuminati, we're all sheep following the Man

[OnWis97]

You can have an opinion, but you don't know any better than anyone else why it was timed like it was. Something tells me you'd have carried the same attitude whenever he did it anyway.

How could I have the attitude that he purposefully waited until the end of his career to do this....if he did it while still in his prime? The point is that this ultimately means nothing. It will take a young player doing this, when he'll have to endure a whole season going from city to city, to have a real effect and set an example.

By "same attitude" I meant negative. I don't know...just my gut (much like your gut on why the timing was as it was).

As for the bold. We'll see. We don't know that he'll be out of the league next year. Given his age and his production, it certainly is possible...or did I miss that he retired. But if he's in the league, then he'll have to do just what you said (city to city) and he'll be older an more mature.

The other thing is that this is a bigger issue than just him. Even if he is done, this is the closest thing to an active player...it's not as big of a step as it would be if he was 25, but it's a baby step.

In any case, I find ripping it to be tasteless.

[CS85]

Lance Briggs toes the line of homophobia via twitter.

[The Six]

You can have an opinion, but you don't know any better than anyone else why it was timed like it was. Something tells me you'd have carried the same attitude whenever he did it anyway.

How could I have the attitude that he purposefully waited until the end of his career to do this....if he did it while still in his prime? The point is that this ultimately means nothing. It will take a young player doing this, when he'll have to endure a whole season going from city to city, to have a real effect and set an example.

By "same attitude" I meant negative.

My attitude isn't negative. It's indifferent.

[Sport]

Because he hid this his entire career, and waited until now, when he knows he's washed up and may not ever play again, to do it. He likely won't have to go through a whole NBA season with this. He gets to start his second career now. This isn't setting an example for a young gay athlete in college. Someone like that coming out would take integrity and courage.

This is a well-timed event that lets him get some media attention on his way out of the league. It's publicity.

but who the hell are you to tell him when he should have come out or to judge whether this is courageous?

So...nobody can have an opinion on it either way? Other people have said that it is courageous. That's judging, too. I guess one can only have an opinion if it affirms yours.

He could not win. Either he hides it (which cheeses off all the phony people who pretend not to discrimintate) or he's showing off (see previous parenthetical). He could not avoid criticism whenever.

You can have an opinion, but you don't know any better than anyone else why it was timed like it was. Something tells me you'd have carried the same attitude whenever he did it anyway.

You can have all the opinions you want...yours happens to be based on your guess (and that's all it is) that he had some devious reason behind the timing. Mine my be based on some bias toward this issue... and I'd say yours certainly is.

Of course this event couldn't happen without the moronic hatred of comments sections, but it also wasn't going to happen without misprojected cynicism either.

Who cares why Jason Collins chose to come out now or what motives he has (I personally think he has nothing but good intentions)? His twin brother didn't even know until recently, which tells me that Jason Collins wasn't comfortable enough to do this years ago. All that matters is that It's important that he did while still an "active" NBA player. If he had done it after he retired he just would've been another John Amaechi and that wouldn't help the movement as much. It takes a lot of courage to be the first to do anything regardless of when it's done or why it's done.

If this was Russell Westbrook or somebody like that it would obviously be a bigger deal, but this is a step in the right direction and will hopefully allow the closeted players to feel comfortable with being themselves in the arena of professional basketball and/or sports as a whole.

[Gothamite]

Report I read was that he was active, as in not retired, which means that he still deserves the praise.

Hell, I think *any* public figure who comes out deserves praise, but especially an athlete who'll have to deal with a world of grief for having done so.

[NJTank]

I thought Jason Collins was retired too, not sure if he plays again not because he is gay but because he is 36 and a back of the bench player well past his prime. If he does play next year it will be an interesting storyline.

[MadmanLA]

Whether he's doing for publicity or not, good for him for coming out though. It's certainly courageous from an emotional, and even a mental and spiritual standpoint, because at least reading his essay, he's something that's being fighting for a while now.

On a personal note, I've really been trying to reconnect with family members who are spread out through the Midwest. I recently found a second cousin of mine who actually attends college here in Los Angeles; I left our hometown just before she was born, so I never had the opportunity to know her until just recently. We met at a function she helped put together at her school, and we bonded quite a bit. She introduced her partner to my girlfriend and I, but the funny thing was that I didn't her clearly enough because the room was rather crowded. As we were driving home, my girlfriend pointed it out to me that my cousin was lesbian...my honest reaction was much like Jarron Collins': being astound and somewhat surprised. After my initial shock, I felt happy and supportive of her, and still do. My cousin's parents are old-school, and don't exactly support her lifestyle, which was something she pointed out in a conversation we had days later.

Admittingly, I don't exactly agree with the LGBT lifestyle (the flamboyancy is the one major thing I don't particularly like), but I've been very open-minded to other people's cultures and beliefs, and at the end of the day, we're all human beings. I have had friends and loved ones how are gay, and I've usually found them to be some of the coolest and more caring people to be around.

All said, kudos to Jason Collins for coming out.

[CS85]

Mike Wallace beat Briggs to the punch:

[Gothamite]

Reading further, he's a free agent now. Which ought to remove the cynicism - he's just crossed an unknown number of teams off the list of possible employers, right at the time he needs a new job.

So yes, courageous. Very much so.

[Lights Out]

Good for him. Hopefully this gives more athletes, and people in general, the courage to stop hiding who they really are.

[Still MIGHTY]

Gotta agree with The Six here on this one. (Is this a first? )

It's great for him and its a nice step, but I don't think it'll hold asmuch impact as some are putting on it. One of my buddies tried to say he's the Jackie Robinson for gays, but I can't go that far with it. Jackie was good. Very good. I didn't even know who Jason Collins was before I heard his name this morning.

Until a player of recognition announces this either before his pro career or at the peak, I don't think it'll have the impact. I'll probably forget who Jason Collins was (again) a year from now. You look at Jackie Robinson with color or Magic Johnson with HIV. THOSE guys had impact. Jason Collins probably won't.

Again, great for him. Courageous move. Nice to see someone take the step, but not a "breaking the barrier" moment.

[Gothamite]

Depends, I think.

If he plays next year, then it will be a major step forward.

I suspect it won't ever be as huge a deal as Jackie Robinson, which says something very positive about our country.

[thespleenenator]

As much as I want this to matter, I think it's only going to make a minor shock wave. I agree that it's very brave of him to come out, especially when he's a free agent, and is trying to get teams to sign him. But gay rights is going to need someone like Jackie Robinson in order for there to be major social change.

[TheFuture]

I definitely believe Collins' move to come out was courageous. Remember, not everyone's attitudes have changed. There are still people out there who fear homosexuals, others who hate homosexuals, others who disagree with homosexuality and others who would rather not be around or associate with homosexuals (those are four different groups of people by the way). More people now than ever are open-minded about homosexuality, but we're still not at 100% acceptance or non-caring of this topic.

Second, regardless of whether he plays basketball again or not, Collins just told the entire world that he was gay. Not only do other NBA teams know, but prospective future employers, clients and customers of his in whatever profession he chooses to go into in the future now know. If his playing days are done, there may be a company who may hesitate at giving him a job or interviewing him.

A gay athlete has more to worry about than how he'll be treated in the locker room and in the arena. He also has to worry about his life away from sports and after sports. Collins is going to have to deal with the reactions for the rest of his life.

Like it or not this is a topic that still matters. Why? There are still people out there who make it matter. When everyone (and I mean everyone) treats a person's sexual preference like it doesn't matter then the entire topic won't matter. Until people of differing sexual preferences are allowed to live their lives the rest of us won't be allowed to live ours without this topic coming up.

[Sport]

Mike Wallace beat Briggs to the punch:

Alphonso Smith of the Detroit Lions makes his case

https://twitter.com/AlphonsoSmith2

[CS85]

Mike Wallace beat Briggs to the punch:

Alphonso Smith of the Detroit Lions makes his case

https://twitter.com/AlphonsoSmith2

I think Smith and Wallace really didn't say anything wrong, per se. Everyone has an express right to their opinion and religious beliefs. MY issue with these comments, especially with Lance Briggs, is that as public figures and role models, they have at least a semblance of responsibility to filter their thoughts on controversial subjects.

[jonkj]

He's 34, not 36.

[Epiphanic]

The idea that since Jason Collins is nothing more than a "role player" and thus makes it less compelling or impactful than if it was some bonafide superstar strikes me as silly. It's like saying Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier was a huge deal because he was a Hall of Fame talent. As if he would've been less important if he was simply an average player instead.