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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.
This story appears in the May 6, 2013, issue of Sports Illustrated.I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.
I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.
My journey of self-discovery and self-acknowledgement began in my hometown of Los Angeles and has taken me through two state high school championships, the NCAA Final Four and the Elite Eight, and nine playoffs in 12 NBA seasons.
I've played for six pro teams and have appeared in two NBA Finals. Ever heard of a parlor game called Three Degrees of Jason Collins? If you're in the league, and I haven't been your teammate, I surely have been one of your teammates' teammates. Or one of your teammates' teammates' teammates.
....................
Why am I coming out now? Well, I started thinking about this in 2011 during the NBA player lockout. I'm a creature of routine. When the regular season ends I immediately dedicate myself to getting game ready for the opener of the next campaign in the fall. But the lockout wreaked havoc on my habits and forced me to confront who I really am and what I really want. With the season delayed, I trained and worked out. But I lacked the distraction that basketball had always provided.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/#ixzz2Rrld48gS
rurallib
(62,342 posts)I am not much of a sports fan any more. The NBA is boring until the playoffs. So I guess this is a big deal. Took a lot of guts to stand up, but in the grand scheme of things - not the end of the world.
Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)It's not about "the playoffs" , or even basketball and it's a "BIG FUCKING DEAL".
rurallib
(62,342 posts)is probably a big deal
krawhitham
(4,634 posts)Yep that is 1.08 points per game
He had twice as many fouls than points (85 vs 41)
0rganism
(23,855 posts)As a center, rebounds are at least as important as points, since the big points are usually coming from the 2-guard and forward positions. For a backup center, 1pt/game isn't out of line. Why obsess about points at what's clearly the end of his career? At 34, he may be having trouble running the floor with the rest of the team, and this is probably his last or second-to-last season anyway.
The main question I'd be asking if I were his coach is, "Can he play defense?"
His average career stats look to be around 21 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist. This is not horrible for a bench center.
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/jason_collins/
Tikki
(14,537 posts)next campaign in the fall...
This talented man is a professional basketball player who is gay by sexual orientation...
YAY for speaking openly...many young men and women thank you for helping
open the door for others...
Tikki
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)TDale313
(7,820 posts)it may have been worth mentioning because being black and gay can carry its own set of complexities (I'm female and white, fwiw, just an observation)
bigdarryl
(13,190 posts)Many and I mean many African Americans have a hangup about gays and gay marriage.Try listening to African American radio and see what Im talking about
East Coast Pirate
(775 posts)Smarmie Doofus
(14,498 posts)are you sure you understand the significance?
edhopper
(33,182 posts)Why qualify this brave act. He felt it was the time and he is the first ACTIVE PLAYER to do this. The Celtics are still in the playoff, for at least one more game. He didn't wait for the end of the season. This is a BFD.
krawhitham
(4,634 posts)It would have been a miracle if he found a job next season, lets just hope he does not blame coming out as the reason he can not find work
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)It is called having the proper antecedent and you failed to do that. Your first sentence is about DUNCAN and then you launch into a he reference, in good writing that would be DUNCAN, not Collins. You need to work a bit harder on that.
Love the avatar and the UNION stuff too!
WhollyHeretic
(4,074 posts)on threads about LGBT issues
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)I did a search as well and I found the same. Odd.
krawhitham
(4,634 posts)No team wants a 34 1/2 year old player who plays 9 minutes a game and scores 1 point
Only thing that bugs me is the fact he is labeled as an active player, he did not come out until he knew he was finished in the NBA
We need a superstar in his prime to come out
TDale313
(7,820 posts)Someone had to be the first. He is an active player, and frankly this will make it much easier for other players to come out. Plus, my guess is he will find a team willing to sign him. We'll see, but this is a BFD, and no amount of poopooing will change that.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)even if it means he never plays another NBA game...
(and it's not like he couldn't go overseas if he really, really wanted to keep playing...)
bigdarryl
(13,190 posts)Look at Shack
krawhitham
(4,634 posts)He was 36 when he has his last good season
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)In fact, isn't it sad that he had to spend his whole career denying who he really was? Thanks to him and many others who have decided they have nothing to be ashamed of, the next generation of people at the beginning of their careers won't have to suffer as he did. That is the significance of the story. Everyone who does as he is doing, contributes to ending the horrible prejudices people, American citizens, have been subjected to for so long.
East Coast Pirate
(775 posts)I didn't mean to sound like I was ridiculing him. Someone had to be the first.
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)sheshe2
(83,324 posts)Thank you kpete.
***
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/#ixzz2Rs3VKAfz
Cha
(295,899 posts)Interesting paragraph.
Funny how life is.. a sequence of events out of our control sets us thinking on releasing our own fears.
sheshe2
(83,324 posts)It's great to know that Jason and Joe will be walking together in the Bostons Gay Pride parade!
Cha
(295,899 posts)behind it. It's got to be a huge source of pride, she!
GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)And, I look forward to the day when stuff like this goes completely overlooked. But, hey. We have to start somewhere, so thanks for taking the first step to that point, Mr. Collins. You have infinitely more guts than those who are going to hate on you over this.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)edbermac
(15,919 posts)He just loves sweaty basketball players.
msongs
(67,193 posts)MAD Dave
(204 posts)DevonRex
(22,541 posts)in support for him since they know him. It means more when it's personal.
riqster
(13,986 posts)I give you the words of Dr. Jones in M*A*S*H: "Anybody ever ask YOU to play pro ball?".
Bluzmann57
(12,336 posts)NBA teams have only 12 guys active at any one time and he's been on some team or anothers roster for many years. I like basketball and I've never been on an NBA roster and never had any hope of doing so. And it's likely that nobody here in DU has ever had any chance of playing pro ball. So hooray for Collins!
TDale313
(7,820 posts)Seriously, his stats and age have nothing to do with the fact that this is a BFD. The fact that this *is* a first in 2013 should tell people this is not a minor thing. If it was such a yawn it would have happened years if not decades ago.
pinto
(106,886 posts)ismnotwasm
(41,917 posts)I'm so glad he did, and used a wide reaching media to do so. An inspiring man.
NewJeffCT
(56,827 posts)I remember seeing him & his twin brother Jarron play in high school (at a tournament in Ft. Myers, Florida that brought in teams from all over the country.). They ended up going to Stanford and doing well there as players.
side note - I dated a girl that had been their babysitter several years earlier. She was also from Southern California, but was going to college in New England.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)losangeleslibker
(66 posts)For those of you that don't know. He was traded to the Washington Wizards who aren't in the playoffs earlier this year. But that's not the point. What he did must've been really hard to do. And doing it while still active is courageous. I don't care what the conservative "patriotic" pundits say, it was still courageous. He's from the same area of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley as me, Northridge. That's something I'm proud to have in common with him. What he did was amazing. And to all the bigots who disagree, fuck you.
Skittles
(152,964 posts)yes INDEED
LeftofObama
(4,243 posts)but I didn't want to be the first one to say it.
davidpdx
(22,000 posts)I wish him health, happiness, and continued success in whatever he chooses to do.
Skittles
(152,964 posts)because he is a well-adjusted guy who refuses to live in the closet!! YES!!!
nadine_mn
(3,702 posts)that he feels comfortable enough with himself and his support network to be open. I agree with the idea that I can't wait until this becomes a non-issue, when finding out a pro-sports player (or frankly anyone) is gay is met with "meh, so what".
In the meantime, I wish him only the best. I know there has been a lot of support, but there are still a lot of homophobic assholes out there, probably in his locker room and to them I say "fuck off"
markpkessinger
(8,381 posts). . . Don't get me wrong: I am happy for anybody who breaks free of the tyranny of the closet and comes to terms with who he or she really is. But I can't really bring myself to call his coming out as being "courageous" or "heroic" -- not when we are six years shy of the half-century anniversary of Stonewall, and not when the man's career is already well-established and he faces little real risk as a result of coming out (other than some possible social ostracization by fellow players). I think I'll save my rainbow-colored ticker tape for younger LGBT folks who come out every day in this country, often resulting in being cast out of their homes, disowned by families and the loss of any kind of familial support as they try to establish themselves in their adult lives.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Especially young males who are athletes.
underpants
(182,271 posts)I'm not gay so I am not discussing this from that point of view but all of the changes that we ( and I am white male middle class right down the middle of the road) have achieved didn't come from people sitting and waiting to be invited. I do think this is a big event because it shaves another bit off the old block. Stonewall was the recognized starting point and good for them. This is a big moment from my standpoint. Not earthshattering but all of sports talk radio was about this today and the big question is "Who will be the first active NFL player to come out?" -- because the sports press surely knows of players who are gay.
Sports has been a huge change factor in our society. There are several Jackie Robinson editorial cartoons and articles comparing this today. That may be overstated but sports has showed that merit is valued and in the process showed that merit was not truly valued in other aspects of our society.
Fearless
(18,421 posts)"We salute you, @jasoncollins34 for your courage and leadership. Any time you want to throw out a first pitch at Fenway Park, let us know."
mucifer
(23,371 posts)influence the supreme court decisions coming up soon.