Just last week, Jason Collins, a professional basketball player who is now a free agent, came out and told the world that he is a homosexual. He is the first contemporary male athlete of a major professional sport in the U.S. to do so. His courage and bravery are exceptional, and are great models for other players to follow if they want to come out as well. I don’t see many other players taking the risk right now and joining Collins.
He has received a lot of support since coming out. That does not mean, however, that it was without controversy. Many people have taken to criticizing Collins, usually through a religious perspective. Collins has even received death threats for his decision. It is important to remember that not all of the support he has received has been positive. This is a factor many athletes who are gay are going to have to consider before they make their decision to come out.
Furthermore, Collins has yet to play a game since coming out. It is definitely easier to support something or someone in name than through action. It will be interesting to see how people act when playing with or around Collins. I’m not naïve enough to think there will be a drastic change in how other players perform around Collins, but it is an issue that has been raised not only in basketball, but other sports as well for how homosexual athletes will be treated by other athletes.
Regardless of how other players act, there still exists a stigma that other players could act differently around homosexual players. And that is enough to keep some players from coming out. Hopefully, when next season comes around, Collins’ coming out will prove that he is treated the same as he was. If that happens, then more players may decide to come out. Until then, or if that does not happen, then I think Collins may be the only openly gay athlete.
The NBA is also more of an accepting place than the NFL when it comes to openly gay athletes. There is an inexplicably large stigma against gay athletes in the NFL. Some coaches feel that having a player come out would cause too much conflict and bring too much attention to the team and that it would inevitably lead to the player that came out to be fired.
The fear of being fired is another factor keeping players from coming out. Many of them feel that hiding their true selves is worth it to keep playing their respective sport at the highest level. No one can fault them for choosing employment over coming out. The problem is why they should have to choose in the first place.
Jason Collins is a remarkably brave human being. He is a pioneer in the truest sense of the word. His basketball skills are not defined by his sexuality, so we should not judge him based on his sexuality. He should be a role-model for those players who still haven’t come out.
But the fact is that even though he has taken the first step, others will probably not join him quickly. In time, perhaps more players will come out, but until the athletic environment becomes more willing to accept gay players, Collins may have to be the only one.
