Jason Collins - Modern-Day Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson, Jim Abbott, Magic Johnson, Nancy Lieberman, Janet Guthrie, Oscar Pistorius.

These men and women broke barriers in professional sports with regards to race, gender, and physical disability. They remain as icons to those who came after them. 

African-Americans look up to Jackie Robinson for breaking the color barrier in baseball and allowing them to one day play in the majors. Those born with physical disabilities see Jim Abbott pitching in the majors with one hand or Oscar Pistorius running in the Olympics with prosthetics and know that they too could make it to the top. Young women see Janet Guthrie compete in a male-driven sport of auto-racing or Nancy Lieberman getting double-teamed in a men’s professional basketball league.

These men and women are an inspiration to the rest of the sporting world. These are just a few of the many out there who have made an impact on countless young, aspiring athletes worldwide.

Yesterday, the world got another barrier-breaker and inspiration in Jason Collins.

Of all of the barriers that have existed in sports over the years, Collins may have broken the final one remaining. Collins, a 12-year veteran of the NBA, announced on Monday in an ABC News interview that he is gay. He is the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport.

But he surely is not alone. David Kopay, EseraTuaolo, Billy Bean, and Glenn Burke all played professionally and came out of the closet AFTER retirement. How many others live in fear and have kept their secret hidden instead of expressing themselves as who they are?

Countless women athletes over the past decade or so have come out with their sexuality. Those athletes don’t get the reaction and attention like Collins is about to receive, for some reason. For example, during the women’s World Cup, it seemed like every time Megan Rapinoe set up Abby Wambach for a goal, twitter exploded with “they know each other’s tendencies so well BECAUSE THEY DATED!”

And did it even make the news that Baylor star and WNBA #1 pick Brittney Griner came out of the closet earlier this year? As Outsports.com founder Cyd Zeigler put it, “mainstream media (doesn’t) seem to care.”

But yes, Jason Collins will get the attention. He will get the ridicule. He will get the one-liners. 

He will also get the support. Fellow NBA athletes have spoken out in support of Collins. Kobe Bryant tweeted “Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others. #courage.”  David Stern complimented on Collins’s leadership on the issue. Even the White House commented and shared their support for the athlete.

Collins is receiving the support from much of the country. However, it is the support that he is giving the LGBTQA community that is the greatest part of this story. Gay individuals, especially gay men, get terribly chastised for being “different” or “wrong” or “sinners” or whatever. Media doesn’t help, as gay men are portrayed as effeminate or weak or weird in 99.9% of movies and TV shows. When you watch a movie, you can tell by the way the actor portrays his character that the character is supposed to be gay.

That’s not how it is in the real world. And Collins is proving that to us. He’s a 7-foot, 255 pound center in the NBA who is considered to be one of the most physical defenders in the league. His self-described job is to pick up six fouls with physical play to wear down the other team and to save his own from foul trouble. Is this the kind of guy you would expect to be gay? I doubt it.

Collins has shown the world that you CAN be a big “manly man” and be gay. He has shown that it is okay to be who you are and that people will still respect you.  Hopefully others will follow his lead and rip off the band-aid. As Collins said, “Big deal. I can still play basketball. I can still help the team win, and that’s what’s most important.”  He’s right, as in the end, his job has NOTHING to do with his sexuality.

Sexuality, religion, gender, physical disability…nothing should keep you from doing your job if you are capable of doing it. Sports are no different. It’s a job where the best player will play. Period.  And it looks like the stigma against homosexual men, athletes in particular, may be over and done with.

If nothing else, I hope the world has learned this one thing from you: it’s okay to be yourself, no matter what that self is. Sports especially doesn’t judge. When an athlete steps in the arena/stadium/racecar, that athlete’s religion, sexuality, nationality, gender, or physicality is thrown out the window. All that matters is how well he/she can play the game. You can be a one-armed, red-headed, gay, Muslim, Israeli with diabetes. But if you can hit a home run, knock down a game winning three, or race at 220 mph, then you’re alright.

Nobody has to know your background. Once you’re on the field, you’re all equals.

That’s what’s right with sports.

Collins said in his interview that there were nights he could not sleep, but after telling just one person his sexuality, he felt better and could sleep easier. Here’s hoping that you never have another sleepless night worrying about who you are or what others think.

Thank you, Jason. Thank you for your courage, your bravery, and for being yourself.