From 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.
Read More: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/#ixzz2Rtdr5gW9
Since he is an aging free agent with poor statistics, I wonder if he will find a place to play next year and if he doesn't, will he blame his gayness?
And the action picture of Collins SI chose to show:
Umm, ok.
It's a big deal, because it's a first. I mean the first out, male team sports player. And he doesn't fit a stereotype. Sports players and fans both often have a tendency to be quite verbally homophobic when they get revved up, so this could spur a little honest talk. There will come a day where this isn't much of an issue at all, and no big "coming outs" are necessary. But we're not there yet.
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