Homosexuality and sports has once again over the past few weeks. Before the NFL Scouting combine potential draft pick Michael Sam announced he was openly gay, planning on becoming the first openly gay NFL player. In the wake of that the Brooklyn Nets signed Jason Collins, who came out last year and couldn't find a contract in free agency due partially to his limited playing abilities as well as the media distraction outweighing the value of Collins' contributions as one of the better role playing big men that can't find a full time job in a league full of role players who are in the league because they are simply tall. A bill the seven foot Collins surely fits.
Michael Sam's announcement was quickly followed by comments from NFL scouts/executives claiming that the NFL is a "man's sport" still and that the 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year won't be welcomed in NFL locker rooms because he would be a "distraction." In a league where the New England Patriots made it to the AFC Championship after Aaron Hernandez was sent to prison in the wake of being involved in grisly murders the old boys club of NFL executives decided to use the same tactic that was used to keep blacks out of their game as much as possible over the years by resorting to bigoted narratives and stereotypes.
Sam, who already was fairly scouted as a third round talent was picked apart harder than any of the potential 2014 Draft prospects and his draft stock went from the third round to potentially being tagged as an undraftable talent, something that likely would not have happened would he have kept his sexual orientation a secret.
It was to be expected, homosexuality is still a divisive issue in North America. Gays are not allowed to get legally married in much of the cities North American pro sports teams reside in, and the schoolyard taunts of calling people "a homo" or other phrases that you can all guess, but are too vulgar to place in this newspaper column are littered throughout pro sports, and despite new rules and diligence against making insensitive comments on the field of play, still flare up often.
So Collins and Sam's moments of bravery were naturally going to get soiled by people bringing in their morality into what was supposed to be a crowning achievement of gay rights, turning it once again into a reminder that we as a society and as a sports culture are still years behind where we should be.
The fact that it took so long for a player like Jason Collins to come out is damning evidence of this already. John Amaechi, a former NBA player decided that he needed to be retired before coming out a few years ago and many athletes stay closeted for their entire lives, in fear of being judged by the people who poorly displayed judgement in the aftermath of Collins announcement. For Michael Sam being the first openly gay player before he even got drafted was a burden that was shocking for him to accept because many knew what would happen to him in a society that still treats gay people as second class citizens while we spent the last month decrying Russia's anti-gay laws because they were hosting the Sochi Olympics. In North America we don't seem to be much better at treating others with different sexual orientations as equals.
When Collins came out last year ESPN's Chris Broussard (who has never shown good taste anyways) went on Outside the Lines condemning Jason Collins as a sinner and in what could be likened to when whites used to use the Bible to justify slavery and heinous acts on the black community. He slandered Jason Collins, using the same tactics of hiding behind a book written thousands of years ago before society even knew homosexuality even truly existed to shout down a man who exhibited much more bravery than Broussard did for his religion by displaying zero class and decorum in calling Collins a "sinner." Ironic in itself, because Broussard has been sinning himself to make millions on ESPN for year's now in his capacity as an NBA insider and former panelist on NBA Countdown. ESPN has a prominent journalist named LZ Granderson, who like Collins is also gay, making Broussard's comments and his bringing up of his friend to justify his stance even more appalling. "An open defiance to God" said Broussard. Something that the journalist is to pious to ignore on top of Mt. Morals. But he did mention that religion teaches tolerance, but the Bible will not allow him to be fully tolerant. The irony.
Yes, the Bible kind of sort of says homosexuality is a sin. But it also says a lot of really stupid things are sins. Because it was written thousands of years ago.
Does Jason Collins being gay make you uncomfortable? Is Jason Collins imposing his gayness upon you? Is Jason Collins being gay meaning you can't be married? Because that is what your heterosexuality imposes upon Jason Collins, your religion also is taking away his rights in the same way it took away the rights of his grandparents with the segregation era in the United States and his great-grandparents with slavery. This needs to end.
Gay people exist, to the point where they are just people, and people like different things and should be free to enjoy those things, especially something as special and meaningful to the human condition as love. Jason Collins has probably loved another man before and had that relationship fall apart because you as a person could not accept his homosexuality, you have made Jason Collins hurt because of your intolerance. Because of your lack of understanding and empathy. How would you feel if everywhere you went with your wife/girlfriend the world judged you? People whispered nasty things into the ear of the person they were with so that you couldn't hear or anyone else because it is wrong to be so prejudiced but you are going to say it in private anyways?
If Chris Broussard went on ESPN and told everyone that slavery was still okay because it says so in two lines of a 1000 plus page book, he wouldn't have a job still. But because it was about gay people it is okay? That is what society is telling us. You couldn't call someone the "n word" in a Grade 10 English class without being suspended or starting a fight, but if you called the gay kid in your school a "fag" people would probably laugh along with you.
We have a double standard when it comes to sexuality as people, it is human nature. The majority of society is openly heterosexual and Christian, so everyone expects the rest of society to conform and anyone who is askew from that line is deemed as abnormal. This is wrong, but it is how it generally works, but we can't keep doing this.
The world has billions of people. It has handfuls of religions, races, languages. It has non drinkers, and drinkers. That is why prohibition didn't work. It has blacks and whites. That is why slavery was abolished. It has Christians and Atheists. That is why there is the separation of church and state. It has drug users and non drug users. That is why the war on drugs has been a failure. We have heterosexuals, transgenders, gays and lesbians. That is why the old rigid views on sexuality will never work.
I have been in countless of different places all over the world. When I encounter someone with a language problem, I attempt to understand them, because when I can't understand them they try to help me understand. When I encounter a Muslim I try to understand their religion and customs. When I encounter a gay person it doesn't matter, because they understand that I am straight. That is how our world should work, but it often doesn't.
We should be happy for Jason Collins and we should be happy for Michael Sam for getting to be allowed to be open with who and how they love. We shouldn't be sitting here bickering over our own personal morals, and we definitely shouldn't be criticizing him. Jason Collins is a gay person.
He is tough, he plays hard defense and he works hard for his team while being a great human being, wearing No. 98 for the Celtics in honor of Matthew Shepard a gay University of Wyoming student who was murdered in a hate crime in 1998. If a Christian didn't know Jason Collins was gay, they would probably use him as a role model.Same for Sam, a young man who has overcame several hardships of a tough upbringing to put himself on the cusp of becoming an NFL star.
Now Jason Collins is finally free, free to lives his life the way he wants to. You should be happy for him, not because he was brave enough to come out, but because he is strong enough to not allow people telling them that they are wrong deter them from knowing that they are right.
