Jason Collins: A New Hope for America's Gay Athletes

Jason Collins has been a professional basketball player for twelve years. The Houston Rockets selected the seven-footer with the 18th overall pick in the 2001 draft, and he has played for six teams since, putting up a career best 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds a game as a starter for the New Jersey Nets in the ‘04-‘05 season. He has never been considered a "standout performer," but, this past Monday, he stood out to the world, announcing in the May 6th edition of Sports Illustrated, "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay."Other professional athletes, such as former NFL running back Dave Kopay and former NBA center John Amaechi, have come out as gay in the past, but always post-retirement. So with this announcement, Collins became the first active American athlete participating in a Big-Four sport (Baseball, Basketball, Football and Hockey) to be openly gay.As expected, the media blew up in the hours following his coming out, and Collins received congratulations and thanks from many highly esteemed men and women, both in and out the sports world. Immediately Collins received support from the White House, current and former NBA players, his sponsor, and thousands around the country. He garnered recognition from many different types of people, from President Obama to Magic Johnson to Charlie Sheen."I told him I couldn't be prouder," Obama told Collins in a phone call on Monday evening. "One of the extraordinary measures of progress that we've seen in this country has been the recognition that the LGBT community deserves full equality."This announcement came less than three weeks after the release of 42, a sports drama about the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson, who became the first black athlete in Major League Baseball. Collins’ actions have already drawn parallels to Robinson’s historic presence. Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager Don Mattingly expressed support for the comparison."It seems a little bit like a Jackie Robinson-type thing to me. He's kind of crossing some barriers," Mattingly said. In reference to how his own players would react, he continued, "The first time it happens, you're kind of in uncharted waters. I would think, a lot like Jackie, [Collins] made it easier for anyone else who wants to step forward."Others, however, have fervently downplayed this claim. A Forbes article from April 30th states, "This is not Jackie Robinson coming up in his prime with the Brooklyn Dodgers as told in the current movie "42" where he could not use the same bathrooms, was shunned by virtually everyone including his own teammates, and who turned out to be the most important trailblazer in the history of sports… That it was Jason Collins who was the first will be a footnote in history eventually as there will be no statues erected or numbers retired in his honor."Despite a largely positive reaction, there were those that disapproved. NBA analyst Chris Broussard, a Christian, shared his feelings on ESPN’s "Outside the Lines" Monday night. "I think it's a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is. If you're openly living in unrepentant sin ... that's walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ," he added.Regardless of personal beliefs, Collins’ courage will undoubtedly be an inspiration to upcoming athletes across America, and may lead other players to come out, as well.