Author: Joe Siegal
Sports Illustrated published this week’s cover story on Monday morning in which the 34 year-old National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran center, former Stanford player and Los Angeles native Jason Collins became the first openly gay active male athlete in a major American team sport. Collins’ landmark coming out announcement comes at a time when gay rights are arguably the foremost hot-button national social issue. Collins’ eloquent and personal article was then dissected and discussed across the media, including America’s dominant mainstream voice for sports coverage, ESPN, which produced the most controversial, yet telling reaction of the day.
ESPN’s NBA reporter Chris Broussard, who appeared on the network’s Monday edition of the abnormally level-headed Outside the Lines program, said, among other things, that he believes homosexuality is “an open rebellion to God.” Afterward, ESPN released a statement admitting regret that Broussard’s comments “became a distraction from today’s news.” However, Broussard’s comments are not a “distraction” from Collins’ trailblazing act, but rather a reminder of the pervasive homophobia sometimes transmitted through American media that often gets swept under the rug and excused as an open expression of religious beliefs.
Collins wrote that he “[takes] the teachings of Jesus seriously, particularly the ones that touch on tolerance and understanding.” He also questions what the reaction of the NBA community will be, saying, “I’ve been asked how other players will respond to my announcement. The simple answer is, I have no idea. I’m a pragmatist. I hope for the best, but plan for the worst.”
In the hours after the story was published, many NBA players announced or tweeted their support for Collins, showing that many of the league’s players may be accepting and tolerant but, as Broussard’s words indicate, some individuals close to the game may not have come around just yet.
In Collins’ words, “Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start.” In sports, which often harbor America’s long-entrenched masculine ideals, there has never been truly open dialogue about sexuality. For Collins to take this leap forward and confront the culture of sports, including the potentially ugly backlash from some, like Broussard is brave and important. Broussard’s reaction is not indicative of the entire sporting world, but it is not necessarily an isolated example of prejudice, either. Homophobia will undoubtedly rear its ugly head in some aspects of the aftermath of Collins’ coming out, but it should also be publicly questioned and admonished.
The outpouring of support for Collins from athletes across sports, many public figures and even President Obama, who spoke with Collins on the phone on Monday, shows that Collins can rely on the support of many. The increasingly supportive American cultural attitude towards homosexuality will now finally be tested in one of the nation’s last bastions of unchallenged heteronormativity.
Perhaps, and hopefully, the tide with regard to acceptance of gay Americans has turned enough in recent years so that Collins’ presence as an openly gay athlete can be celebrated and respected rather than attacked and scrutinized.
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