Today, Washington Wizards veteran centre Jason Collins came out via Sports Illustrated magazine, making him the first active openly gay player on a major North American team sport.
Former NBA players, including centre John Amaechi, have come out previously, but the organization has historically been hostile toward homosexuals. As Collins writes in his Sports Illustrated essay, many NBA players still claim they have never met a gay person.
Most notably, Tim Hardaway, one of the league’s premiere all-time point guards, created controversy when Amaechi came out in 2007. Hardaway told a Miami sports radio show, “Well, you know I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic…it shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.”
It would appear that these attitudes are no longer as prominent. Players like Denver Nuggets starting power forward, Kenneth Faried, who is black, and who has two mothers, has supported gay marriage via PSA. Canadian two-time league MVP Steve Nash has openly supported gay marriage.
Still, Monday’s announcement came as a surprise. The past few months have seen speculation that multiple NFL players would come out of the closet (especially after the Minnesota Vikings’ Chris Kluwe and Brendan Ayanbadejo’s very public pro-gay campaigns). Few thought that the NBA would be the first league to make an announcement such as this, as it values and markets the individual superstar more than any other league.
Holly MacKenzie, Sportsnet’s Raptors reporter and writer for the NBA, Hoop magazine and Yahoo!, says the players reactions are just as telling as the announcement itself. “We’ve been waiting a while for a moment like this in professional sports. To see the beauty in a community supporting Jason after his announcement is heartwarming. No one knew when this would happen, who would do it, or what the reaction would be. To see the NBA, the Washington Wizards and some of the league’s most prominent stars stand behind him is a huge moment not just for the NBA, but professional sports as a whole.”
Marquee NBA players have already taken to twitter to congratulate Collins, including Kobe Bryant:
Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU
– Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 29, 2013
Collins is a free agent.
