Monday, November 18, 2013
Jason Collins Coming Out - Travis Kash
Since the beginning of sport, there has been discrimination and unfair treatment against homosexual athletes of all sports. Although it is not as bad as it used to be, it is still present in professional leagues today as apparent by the alarmingly huge deal made out of Jason Collins coming out as the first openly gay athlete to still play. When Jason Collins came out, it was a huge deal and many people jumped out in immediate support and praise of Collins for making such a brave decision. While I do think it was very admirable of Collins to have the bravery to do this, I also think at the same time that a person shouldn’t have to be brave or afraid to simply be who they are. It is not right that a person, professional athlete or not, should have to be afraid to let those they know closest who they truly are. Our society and the media just makes it even more difficult, because they make “coming out” for a homosexual a huge event and give it so much coverage and attention. I feel like that might cause some people who are homosexual to be more afraid to embrace their sexuality because they are afraid of how big of a deal it can be turned in to. If the culture of discrimination against gay athletes is going to change, I think that people and the media need to treat an athlete coming out as just a normal thing and accept it and move on. A person should never be afraid of being who they naturally are, and I think Jason Collins really helped to change the attitude towards homosexuals in professional athletics.
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Travis,
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point about how the media makes “coming out” a big deal, not everyone else. If society can get to the point that “coming out” is a normal occurrence, I have a very strong belief that many more people, including professional athletes, will make their brave decisions on coming out. I am not saying I support homosexuality by saying this or not against it either. I am saying that if a person’s decisions can be in the normal operations of a normal day regardless of what that decision may be, then a lot of people will stand up for what they truly believe in and what they truly are. I am for a person, from the average Joe Schmo to a professional athlete, to be who they truly are and stand up for what they believe in regardless of what others or outside media may think.
- Billy Nowak
Travis-
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100% that athletes and people in general should be able to express their true feelings without the fear of facing ridicule and prejudice but the fact of the matter is that the sports world will never be an environment that is conducive to homosexuals. Sports are dominated by the heterosexual male and they are a way for men to assert their sexuality and dominance and that assertion and dominance is taken to a whole new level when we consider the locker room and not just the playing field. Players brag about sexual conquests on a daily basis and engage in other activities that are not appropriate to discuss in this blog. Nevertheless, the locker room will never be a safe place for a gay man and I'm not sure if we will ever see an active player come out of the closet, although I wish that was not the case.
Ben Mathey
Travis,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you said about how it’s completely the media and our society’s fault as to why “coming out” is a huge event. For anyone in the spotlight, whether it is sports, politics or the acting world, they need to face a huge turning point when they “come out” to the media. The media then turns it into a spectacle and creates a stir among the people reading the articles. If the media did not make these events into press conferences or front page featured articles in magazines, it might become less of a big deal with the general population. As with most things in our society, the media can control these issues and make them less or more of an event. I also think that by the media doing this, that is what has made “coming out” such a hostile environment for famous people. They feel like they need to hide their sexuality just because they’re well known and it isn’t the norm.
Nicole Zawislan