Courtesy of Inner-City Newspaper
On Monday, Jason Collins announced himself as the
first gay male, active professional athlete in this week's Sports Illustrated.
His statement is a groundbreaking one, since nobody else has done so. He has
been widely supported both nationally and in the sports world, but
homosexuality is still a hot button issue. I personally support the gay
community, but many unfortunately do not. From the sports perspective, the
story is complicated by the fact that Collins is a 34-year old free agent who
has marginal talent at best. It is unlikely that he would have been signed
regardless, and I doubt this will help his cause. His presence could possibly
bring a distraction to the locker room, and his talent does not justify such a
move. If Collins is not signed and he retires, then the case can be made that
John Ameche is just as much of a trailblazer. I hope that one day in the near
future enough players come out of the closet so that this is no longer a
national news story. Jason Collins is a huge step in the right direction,
because his journey opens up conversation between people. As Mike Wallace
showed, some people still cannot comprehend the concept of homosexuality. The
only way to solve that is by raising awareness and striking up intelligent
discourse. The country still has progress to make, but the future definitely
seems bright.
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