Jason Collins Truly Groundbreaking

Truly Groundbreaking by Joe Brackets:

Like I said, it was just a matter of time.  And the prevailing attitude is one of acceptance.  Because it doesn’t matter.  Jason Collins is gay.  So what?  How does that affect his ability to play basketball?

Some people might look at Jason Collins differently now.  Which is on them.  I look at him differently too.  I look at him with admiration.  Somebody had to be the first, and it couldn’t have been easy.  Now Jason Collins is free from that burden.  Of course, it’s also made him a pioneer and a hero to millions, which will likely bring with it a whole new burden.  But it’s one he’s more than willing to take on.  And I think the road is going to be a lot easier to travel.  Because he’s not going to be traveling it alone.  He no longer has to lie about who he is.  That alone makes today’s announcement worth it.

You know that it’s going to open doors, too.  He wasn’t the first one.  There have been players like John Amaechi and Esera Tuaolo who waited until they retired to come out, but that doesn’t change the fact they were gay men playing major league professional sports.  He isn’t the only one either.  Logic dictates that there are more.  With the sheer number of players across the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB, there has to be.  He just happened to be the one who had the courage to say, “This is who I am.”  And because he did, it just became a hell of a lot easier for the rest of them to do the same thing.

Jason Collins is a trail blazer, and not the kind that plays in Portland.  He’s a free agent this offseason, and I sure hope somebody signs him.  Because his message will be a lot more powerful if he’s suiting up for an NBA team in the 2013-14 season.  And if he doesn’t catch on with a team next season, I hope it’s 100 percent because of what teams think he’ll be able to contribute on the basketball court rather than being based on ignorance and discrimination.  From what NBA GM’s said in the wake of the announcement, it sure seems like the former would be the case over the latter, although what they said also gave me the impression he’ll be playing somewhere next season.

Perhaps this is a commentary on American society as a whole.  Jason Collins felt comfortable coming out and it’s not a big deal.  It’s, of course, a big deal in one sense.  It always will be.  But what I meant by that is we’ve become evolved enough as a country to look beyond someone’s sexual orientation.  After the bombings at the Boston Marathon, Rick Reilly wrote a beautiful column about the first responders, one of whom just happens to be openly gay.  In the moment, that’s completely irrelevant.  It should be that way all the time.  I have plenty of gay friends.  I don’t view them any differently.  Just like I don’t view Jason Collins any differently.

Don’t get me wrong.  I understand the significance of this moment.  Just like everybody else does.  All I’m saying is that it speaks to our growth as Americans that this can happen so nonshalantly and the overwhelming response would be of acceptance.  There are, of course, those who disagree, and they’re entitled to that opinion.  But it speaks volumes that they’re the minority.

Martina Navratilova has been out for years.  And I don’t think anyone was shocked when Brittany Griner made her official announcement a few weeks ago.  There have been the whispers about her for about as long as she’s been in the national spotlight.  Sadly, that’s always going to be a question and there will always be suspicions about certain female athletes.  But why?  Just like male athletes, it makes no difference if a female athlete is gay or straight.  Your sexual orientation has no bearing on your ability to do your job, whether it’s playing basketball or teaching or working the register at McDonald’s.

This is different, though.  This is the announcement we’ve been waiting for.  It’s been an open secret in pro locker rooms for years that there might be somebody gay in there.  The question was always about what the reaction would be once somebody finally came out.  Well, the reaction to it is about what I expected.  It says a lot that we’ve reached this point.

Everybody has the right to be happy.  Just like everybody has the right to live their life in a way that makes them comfortable.  Hopefully this does both for Jason Collins.  He’s gay.  He’s a professional athlete.  The two aren’t mutually exclusive.  Thank you Jason for opening everyone’s eyes.  You’ve gained a ton of fans today.  You can count me as one of them.