Bravery, GLBT Rights and Jason Collins

GLBT rights have been forefront discussions nationwide for several years now, gaining momentum as more and more states have legalized gay marriage and as the Supreme Court of the US held two court hearings just this year regarding gay marriage issues (decisions on these cases are expected in late June or early July). Many people have come out to their families and friends as GLBT over the years and more and more people have been brave and come out to their co-workers. This can't be easy, but in a fast food joint or a law office the person's announcement has a limited audience of people who will know and be directly affected by it. Professional athletes in highly-visible and popular sports who were gay tended to announce their sexual orientation after they had retired from being active competitors. That changed yesterday.

Jason Collins

Jason Collins is a center who plays for the Washington Wizards (that's a basketball team for those of my readers who may not be from the US or follow the sport). He's not a first-run player, he is what's called a "fringe" player - someone who is good enough to play in the NBA but no Kobe Bryant or Kevin Garnett. So there is a chance that he won't be signed by a team for next year's season - he's not a ticket seller. But he is a very competent center who has been a good team member and contributing player and he took a big personal step yesterday by publicly announcing that he is gay in the cover article of Sports Illustrated magazine.

I don't usually buy SI, but I may buy this issue.

This small announcement suddenly became headline news. His announcement became the headline on AOL news, the lead-off sports story for many local newscasts and mentioned on every national newscast. He will be interviewed on Good Morning America this morning, and he received a congratulatory phone call from President Obama and a supportive tweet from Michelle Obama.

So he's front page news today and will be interviewed on GMA this
morning. But when will gay players just be accepted as non-news?
That's what I'm hoping for - that's the level of acceptance I want in my lifetime.

I'm not disputing for one minute that it took courage for him to take his future and his career, as well as his personal safety (which is always safer in the shadows) and put everything out front by admitting his sexual preference. I don't denigrate his bravery and I don't minimize his actions. I feel sorrow that we live in a society where an announcement of someone's sexuality, hetero- homo- or otherwise, is headline news. I hope that we grow as a society to truly accept all types of sexuality so that any announcement will be taken for granted and not considered headline news except to the individual and those people with whom he/she interacts.

That's my hope and my prayer. Let acceptance become commonplace and accepted. Let those few who spout vitriolic and incendiary words against people who come out in an honest way be looked upon at as the exceptions and with questioning gazes. Let's look askance at the haters, not at the lovers. Congratulations, Jason Collins and others who have and are contemplating coming out to friends, families and co-workers. It takes courage to be honest and you deserve accolades for your actions.