Big Deal or Not? A Perspective on Jason Collins' Announcement

After weeks of discussions about the possibility of a male athlete in one of the four major sports in the United States coming out as openly gay, NBA free agent center Jason Collins has decided to carry that gauntlet.  In a joint article with Franz Lidz from last Monday's edition of Sports Illustrated, Collins stated this:

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay...I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

Mind you, this announcement comes nearly two weeks after former Baylor University women's basketball star and Phoenix Mercury No. 1 overall draft pick Brittney Griner admitted that she was a lesbian.  However, that neither received the same amount of fanfare nor--and I say this with the utmost respect--wasn't as much of a surprise on a couple of different levels--though equally encouraging for other female athletes who may have trepidations.  Ironically after the whole debate about whether Griner could be successful playing in the NBA, homosexuality may be the only arena where female athletes aren't susceptible to as much scrutiny as male athletes.  Thus, I believe that's one of the many reasons why Collins' willingness to be the first has been heralded as such a "landmark" event in American professional sports--even drawing strong comparisons to Jackie Robinson becoming the first Black player in Major League Baseball in 1947.  (I personally wouldn't go that far because racism was much more prevalent during Robinson's era whereas homosexuality is significantly more tolerated, accepted and/or celebrated in this day and age, but it's still an important event nonetheless.)

Since his announcement, he has received overwhelming support from fellow athletes, former teammates and coaches, celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, and politicians like former President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.  Former Baltimore Ravens' linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who has been one of the most vocal heterosexual supporters of LGBT rights and marriage equality, had this to say about Collins' admission:

I am enthused about the light years of progress we have made toward equality in a matter of months. People have been paving the road for decades to make this happen and now Jason is carrying the torch for others to live a free life, a life where one is judged by their character and not by their religion, skin color, or sexual orientation.

Minnesota Vikings' punter Chris Kluwe, another vocal heterosexual ally for the LGBT community, echoed and expounded upon Ayanbadejo's sentiment:

If you look at it from just an athletic standpoint, if you’re forced to hide who you are, that means you’re not playing up to your full potential. I mean, who knows how good Jason Collins would have been if he hadn’t had to hide who he was? That’s something that we’ll never be able to answer. But I think that’s something that should be taken into consideration.

The theme of both of their statements is freedom.  Collins lived a life of pretending to be someone that he wasn't.  He dated women before and once was engaged because he thought that's what he should do, but he called off the engagement in 2009.  He admitted that he couldn't get close with his teammates because of how he really felt.  When he decided to take the number 98, he couldn't even tell people that the reason he chose the number was 1) in memory of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was kidnapped, tortured, lashed to a prarie fence and left to die in 1998 and 2) to represent the Trevor Project, an organization founded in 1998 rooted in crisis intervention and suicide prevention for kids struggling with their sexual identity.  Even his own twin brother Jarren didn't suspect that he was gay--to which Jason joked, "So much for twin telepathy."  As he's done in his professional career, he simply played an assigned role; in this case, he mainly did it because the "don't ask, don't tell" mentality was still the status quo in men's professional sports.  Now he's free to be himself instead of carrying around the shackles of someone else's existence.

However--and as expected--not everyone is in full support of Collins' move.  In the wake of the announcement, recently-signed Miami Dolphins' wide receiver Mike Wallace initally tweeted the following: "I’m not bashing anybody don’t have anything against anyone I just don’t understand it...All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH..."  He later deleted those tweets and said, "Never said anything was right or wrong I just said I don't understand!! Deeply sorry for anyone that I offended."  Admittedly, I've thought the same thing before and I still don't "understand" it because I'm a heterosexual man who absolutely loves the scent, the look, the feel and the touch of an attractive woman.  What I've realized though is that homosexuality is one of the many things in life that is not for me to understand because it's not my lifestyle.  I simply respect that person and their desire to live freely, whether I agree with it or not.  Furthermore, it never bothered me that much because (particularly in my single days) I take a Devin the Dude approach: "'Cuz if they just say no, then it's more for me."  Wallace simply had a Krusty the Clown moment of saying the loud part quiet and the quiet part loud during a time when the event was still fresh.

ESPN NBA analyst Chris Broussard appeared on Outside the Lines to speak on the issue along with CNN and ESPN journalist and commentator LZ Granderson, who recently admitted that he is gay.  Broussard and Granderson spoke about their separate discussions regarding this issue, and Granderson actually stated how Broussard has been respectful in their conversations--though they have consistently argued from different ends of the spectrum.  However, Broussard made the following comment that struck a nerve:

Personally, I don't believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle or an openly premarital sex between heterosexuals.  If you're openly living that type of lifestyle, then the Bible says you know them by their fruits, it says that's a sin. If you're openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, adultery, fornication, premarital sex between heterosexuals, whatever it may be, I believe that's walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I do not think the Bible would characterize them as a Christian.

Although Broussard later "clarified" his remarks, I do give him some credit for owning his comments.  Compared to some of the other ultra-religious comments in response to Collins' admission, he didn't hide behind an online identity when he said what he said.  Now do I agree with what he said?  Well, this is the perfect segue to my thoughts...

Many of you are already aware that I am a Christian man.  Having said that, I agree with some of Broussard's assertions.  Like Broussard insinuated, I do not agree with the practice of homosexuality, adultery, fornication and anything else that is clearly outlined as a sin or an abomination because God is not pleased by it.  I also feel like openly living in unrepentant sin is walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ because it's saying, "I like what I'm doing because it feels good and it makes me happy.  I don't care what your Word says, God."  On numerous occasions, I've practiced sin and have been at the extreme of being openly rebellious while calling myself a Christian, and it's never been anything of which to be proud.  However, this is where my agreement with Broussard stops.  In Matthew 7:1-3, it states:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

Simply put, everybody sins--sinners and saints alike--and must be accountable for their own infractions before the Lord.  Thus, it's not up to us to decide who's Christian and who's not because one person that identifies as a Christian sins more openly than another person that identifies as a Christian.  The only reason that God recognizes any of us who call ourselves Christians is because of the root word: Christ.  Jesus lived a life without spot or blemish, not any of us.  Jesus hung on a cross for six hours while being flogged and ridiculed, not any of us.  Jesus died, was buried, overcame death and defeated the enemy, and rose to victory on that third day to atone for our sins and reconcile us with God, not any of us.  Therefore, when we submit to Christ as our Lord and Savior, God doesn't look at us and see homosexuals, adulterers, drug addicts, alcoholics, thieves, gossipers, gamblers, liars or murderers; He simply sees the cross and the blood of His only begotten Son.  That doesn't give us a license to sin because we have a responsibility to obey His Word, but different Christians have different paths.  God works on and in each of us differently to manifest His glory.  I'm sure that if God could convert the apostle Paul from a Christian killer to an evangelist and writer of a significant portion of the New Testament, then who knows what He can do in the life of Jason Collins--even in the midst of announcing that he's openly gay.  So I won't go so far as to call Broussard a "bigot" because I don't believe that he was being completely intolerant or hateful with his religious views, which is at the heart of bigotry.  I just think somebody needs to pull him to the side and give him a spiritual gut check because his comments appear to be self-righteous.

If I were Collins' teammate or the teammate of someone that was openly gay, I'd simply look at it like this: "You like guys...I like girls...now that we've got that covered, how should we approach our next game?"  What another man does in his private life is none of my business unless his lifestyle affects our overall productivity and effectiveness as a cohesive unit.  As long as he does his job to the best of his God-given ability and is the consummate team player, then I couldn't care less who's between his sheets at night--whether he was sleeping with the hottest chick in the game or someone with the same "equipment" as he has.  Collins spoke about his sexual preference having nothing to do with his attitude as a ball player:

I go against the gay stereotype, which is why I think a lot of players will be shocked: That guy is gay? But I've always been an aggressive player, even in high school. Am I so physical to prove that being gay doesn't make you soft? Who knows? That's something for a psychologist to unravel. My motivations, like my contributions, don't show up in box scores, and frankly I don't care about stats. Winning is what counts. I want to be evaluated as a team player.

I have co-workers who gamble, curse religiously, commit adultery, gossip, consume illicit substances or get drunk, sell bootleg DVDs and CDs, or are openly gay or lesbian.  However, that has little to no bearing upon how we function collectively because we understand that as long as people have enough control over the reins to be professional, one's personal life shouldn't interfere with conducting business.  I understand the apprehensions of being in a locker room with another man that could be looking at you through covetous eyes or the possibility of that teammate hitting on you, especially because you're often around that man more than women.  However, just because he's gay and shares the same locker room with you doesn't mean that you're automatically his type or that he's checking for you.  More important, if you're more concerned with sharpening your skills, winning games and being a legitimate contender, i.e., focusing on your actual job, then who's checking you out becomes less of a concern or nonexistent altogether.  Bottom line, it's not a big deal.

As a center who has averaged 3.6 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game, Jason Collins may not blow up a stat sheet and might not seem like the ideal person that people should care so much about making this groundbreaking announcement.  I've seen some cynical people go so far as to say that he's only doing this as a publicity stunt to bolster a career that seems paltry to most.  However, when Boston Celtics' coach Doc Rivers comes out and says that he's one of the best team players that he's ever coached, that speaks to a certain level of leadership that doesn't show up on a stat sheet.  That speaks volumes about the character of a man that is willing to do the necessary grunt work to help the team be successful.  He is willing to step up when no one else is courageous enough to do so, even if he stands to be vilified for it.  It's bigger than Jason Collins being the first man to admit that he's gay in a major U.S. sport.  It's about embracing and knowing exactly who you are, emerging from the shadow of your own doubts and admitting it to yourself, and consistently playing your role--whether you receive endless praise or scathing criticism for doing so.  Thinking of it like that, I don't think there could've been a better person to come out than Jason Collins.  As expected, the fanfare of this historic moment will die down and he will prepare to play for another NBA team next season.  That's indicatve of another major point to take away from this situation: Collins' sexual preference is merely a layer to his identity as a man, but is not the sum and substance of his value as a player, a teammate and a locker room leader.