It’s been several days since NBA player Jason Collins came out as the first gay male athlete in pro team sports, and the top sports story most mornings is… when will Derrick Rose come back?
The globe is still spinning. Collins’ announcement did not rock the sports world to its core. Everybody has digested the news and moved on.
That’s not to belittle what Collins did. I cannot imagine the courage and the level of maturity and confidence it takes to tell everyone that you, a pro athlete in a super machismo environment, are gay. Collins believed he was ready to come out, and the announcement was met with almost nothing but love and support. Players, coaches, fans, Oprah, President Clinton, President Obama – they all contacted Collins to let him know they were proud of him and overjoyed that he is happy.
Of course, there have been some people that have not been too thrilled about the news. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Wallace said something more ignorant than hateful, ESPN’s Chris Broussard embraced debate and potentially ended his career, and the always-dreadful Westboro Baptist Church Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. But still, examples like these are a small minority.
The news cycle on the story crested Monday afternoon, carried over a little into Tuesday, and has slowly faded away since. This is a good thing. Jason Collins’ sexuality is viewed as normal, for lack of a better term. In the big scheme of life, the fact that he likes men doesn’t change the fact that he is a gritty ballplayer, a loyal teammate and good guy.
No athletes came out and said they wouldn’t play with Collins. No owner or general manager said he wouldn’t sign Collins this offseason. No fans said they would organize any anti-Collins fan groups. Nothing.
Collins’s announcement is a big deal in terms of history, when thinking of how far tolerance has advanced. How far gay rights have advanced. How far sports have advanced. How far society has advanced. The news affirms that people can openly be who they are without fear of disapproval, shame or violence.
But it’s not a big deal in the day-to-day. We have a gay athlete now… so what? Sports will still be sports. Collins is still a part of the meritocracy. If he’s still physically fit and a good teammate, he’ll have a spot on an NBA roster next year. His sexual orientation will not matter at all. The prevailing notion from players around the league (and in pro sports in general) is that it doesn’t matter if a teammate is gay, straight or whatever. If he can help them win, that’s all that matters.
Collins has a reputation as a leader – ask his former coach, Doc Rivers – and that trait is the perfect one to have in his situation. Not only can he find a team next year if he’s a strong locker room presence, but he’ll also be a leader to other gay players who are considering coming out. Being the first isn’t easy, but Collins seems to have the right make-up. If he handles the attention the way he has been so far – with grace and thoughtfulness – the blueprint will be laid, and the next gay athlete (or group of athletes) will come out will be sooner rather than later.
For now, Collins is the first and only. He’ll go through the media rounds, but eventually his focus will be back on basketball, and he’ll train for the season and find a team. He’ll eventually be perceived simply as a class act that happens to play basketball and be gay.
The story will become a non-story, and the NBA will accept him as a player and a human being.