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LGBT News NBA Player Comes Out

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by Gallatin, Apr 29, 2013.

  1. Gallatin

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    Jason Collins, a 34 year old center who most recently played for the Washington Wizards this season, is coming out.

    Full article here.

    Collins will be a free-agent this summer, and hopes to sign with a team and continue playing in the NBA.
     
  2. Browncoat

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    :eusa_clap And let's hope there's more to follow. :slight_smile:
     
  3. PeteNJ

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    Fantastic for him! And all of us. Some ways it's unfortunate that a person's sexual identity is news.

    I sure hope 2013 is a watershed year for LGBTQ rights, particularly in the USA where I live.
     
  4. Browncoat

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    I am sitting in my university's rec center watching ESPN make a semi-big deal out of this, and there is a guy who I know to be a football player sitting in the area too, texting back and forth and snickering about something.


    Oh how I dearly wish I wasn't such a socially anxious person, and could go over and ask what he thinks about all this... and if it's what he's laughing to himself about, lol.
     
  5. Cthulhu

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    Congrats to him! Very proud of what he did! :slight_smile:
     
  6. Hefiel

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    Hopefully for him he'll be able to sign a deal with another team for the next season. Being homosexual in a professional team sport that has never really been favorable to the idea of homosexuality could be an issue for him.
     
  7. Browncoat

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    FWIW, all the ESPN analysts are claiming that it'll have no impact. Particularly since he's a "highly respected individual in the league."
     
  8. Hefiel

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    Possible. We still have to take into considering the perception of homosexuality in the State where the player's future team lives (which could affect the team's popularity in highly religious and conservative areas). We also have to take into account the perception of homosexuality within the team which could be unfavorable due to misconceptions or religious beliefs, and also take into account the coach or owner's religious beliefs and misconceptions.

    I really do hope for him that this does not affect his chances of signing with a good team, but the chances of this happening are not 0%.
     
  9. Hiems

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    I agree that coming out shouldn't be newsworthy, but in this context, it's really significant. Jason Collins has paved the path for other LGBT athletes in major sports to come out. Brendon Ayanbadejo even said that there are other athletes who may do so when they feel it's appropriate. So the more role models we have, the better.

    Also, in b4 social conservatives go in denial via making ludicrous correlations between sexual orientation and athleticism.
     
  10. Browncoat

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    Well luckily even the teams that are in "highly religious and conservative areas" are in the cities of those areas. So it's a different story. Plus most GMs are just going to care whether you can play or not, so he may not get signed just 'cause he's old.


    As the news-folk are speculating now, it'll be much more interesting whenever a younger player decides to come out. We'll then get a better idea of how professional sports leagues can handle it.
     
    #11 Browncoat, Apr 29, 2013
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2013
  11. Hefiel

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    True enough, at 34 he's near the end of his career.
     
  12. drwinchester

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    Visibility can only help at this point. Hopefully his coming out will pave the path, so to speak, for closeted atheletes to come out or even to encourage more LGBT individuals to break into sports. I'll admit, not familiar with Collins but I applaude his willingness to go public with his sexuality.
     
  13. caughtbywitness

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    Woop! I know that of all the 500 odd Olympians we had last year for the UK, only Dressage rider Carl Hester was openly gay. It's still a big taboo in sport, unfortunately.
     
  14. MixedNutz

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    That's great, hopefully he will become a positive role model.
     
  15. BradThePug

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    It's awesome to see this! I hope that this will open doors for more athletes to come out in the future.
     
  16. Thatoneguy

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    I can definitely see this having a domino effect.
     
  17. All Star

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    I'm sure that this will lead to more players coming out, in fact, I remember seeing an article with football I believe it was were a player came out, and then his teammates, while not coming out publicly, came out to their teammates, so it's quite possible more will come out. Anyway, guess I have another player to root for!
     
  18. ForgottenRose

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    Yay for him!!

    Just a quick BTW, but he is also very hot :wink:
     
  19. Iowan1976

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    I am very happy for him, and I wish him success. I hope this is the start of more current athletes in more sports. I think the ultimate would be a gay NFL player. That would get me to watch the sport.