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.)

Scribbler's Throwback of the Week: The Nutty Professor Quartet, Part 1

For anyone that's a fan of Eddie Murphy's classic and hilarious remake of The Nutty Professor (1996), you may remember the part where he goes through his CD collection and says, "Lillo, Peabo, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass...TEDDY P!"  Hence, the reason for the name of this particular series of my "Throwback of the Week" installation.  Now if you're an avid R&B fan, you might just know all four singers; however, if you're just an average R&B fan, then I'm positive that you know nothing about the first name.  Let the learning and fun part begin...

Scribbler's Throwback of the Week: Jennifer Holliday, "Hard Times For Lovers"

A lot of people--old and young--may not know much about Texas native Jennifer Holliday outside of her Tony-winning performance as Effie White and her Grammy-winning performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" in the original Broadway production of Dreamgirls in 1981.  I bet that a lot more folks who are somewhat familiar with their 80s pop may not instantly recognize her voice toward the end of Foreigner's classic 1985 hit, "I Want to Know What Love Is".  For whatever reason, she was just one example of how certain women--and that can be equated with women of certain skin complexions AND sizes--with big voices weren't being pushed hard enough by or given the right material for their voices from their record companies in the 1980s.  (Think Shirley Murdock: it took Elektra almost a year to have their "eureka" moment and release "As We Lay" after her first two singles from her eponymous debut album did little in jump starting her solo career.)  However, I could write a separate dissertation of a post about music business politics; my throwback posts are about the actual music, so on with it...

Scribbler's Highlight of the Week: Jack Hoffman

In the everyday struggle called life, it seems like we're on a perpetual roller coaster ride.  We don't give ourselves credit enough for who we are, lose sight of or don't recognize whose we are, and overlook how special we were made.  We get distracted by the trials and tribulations that befall us on a regular basis, and as a result, we often focus on the size of circumstances and assume that we can't overcome them.  When nothing seems certain but death and taxes, it's extremely hard to remain positive or believe in anything or anyone good.  That's why I'm so inspired by this week's "Highlight"--which might easily be my "Highlight of the Year"--because seven-year-old Jack Hoffman is the very antithesis of a defeated attitude.

Scribbler's Throwback of the Week: The O'Jays, "What Am I Waiting For"

The often overlooked beauty of hip-hop music is that it can musically provide a formal introduction to the past.  Although The O'Jays are easily in my favorite top 5 singing groups of all time, I have never owned their 1975 Survival album that features this particular gem.  I first heard it via a Jay-Z song, "You Must Love Me", from In My Lifetime, Vol. 1.  Subsequently, I purchased one of those Smooth Grooves compilation albums mainly because I was so enamored once I heard the original.  It was also notably sampled in 50 Cent's "Ski Mask Way" from The Massacre--and although the sampling was a bit more creative in Fiddy's version, Jay's lyrics were more introspective and had the advantage of Kelly Price singing the hook.  However, this post is not about them...let's talk throwbacks, shall we?