Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Jason Collins- Eddie Hodges
Sports are seen to be a form of masculinity amongst men who play them; even women can be conceived as masculine if they participate in sports. So when people think of male athletes you think of warriors and grown men built to participate in sports. Throughout men's sports homosexuality has not been as prevalent as women's sports. Perceiving that a man is homosexual was rare prior to Jason Collins coming out. Jason Collins is a veteran NBA basketball player and has played in the league for many years. No one had ever speculated that Jason Collins was homosexual. So what drove Jason Collins to come out as gay towards the end of his career? In my opinion, I believe that Jason Collins thought his career was over and wanted to leave the league with something that he could be remembered by. When Jason Collins came out as gay to the public, the media took the story and exploited the opportunity and Jason Collins soon became national headlines. Jason Collins then appeared on talk shows, and even received a call from Obama. With social and mass media being very prevalent in society Jason Collins used that as if he was running for office and used it as a way to keep his name out there. After it is all said in done Jason Collins has never been a big name in pro basketball and until a big name player, such as, Chris Bosh or Tim Duncan who is well-known, comes out as homosexual then we will see a difference in how players and fans react. Now I believe people did not really care about Jason Collins because he was an irrelevant basketball player who just wanted his name to be out there. I believe no NBA team will give Jason Collins a chance because of the "Tebow Effect" meaning a player brings outside problems and bad press with him as he travels from team to team and no NBA team wants that in their locker room.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Eddie—
ReplyDeleteI think that you make some terrific points in this article. In athletics, being heterosexual is the strong norm and everyone expects it to be like that in athletics. Jason Collins was brave to come out as homosexual, but I do agree with you that there may have been different motives behind it. It got Jason Collins publicity that he had not received his whole career, and America is starting to become more accepting of that life style. Jason Collins was always a sub-par basketball player and he didn’t really make headlines with his game. At this point, he is just a washed up NBA center, so he could have just been looking for a reason to get his name out there again. He will likely write a book and talk around the country which will earn him some more money after his career is over. At the end of the day, I agree with you that it will take a big name athlete to come out for things to actually change.
Brian Kochheiser
Eddie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with your theory that Jason Collins came out as gay towards the end of his career because he wanted to leave the league with something he could be remembered by. Had Collins came out earlier there could have been issues among teammates and in the locker room, while coming out towards the end of his career eliminated some of those problems. Also, Collins coming out towards the end of his career could show many people, especially his past teammates, that being gay is okay and there is really no need to have a problem with someone who is gay. Collins coming out was certainly shocking because there have not been any other gay professional basketball players, but I believe that Collins made a huge step forward for the gay community.
Evan Sechler
I agree with Eddie when saying, “throughout men's sports homosexuality has not been as prevalent as in women's sports.” I agree with this thought because there is still little acceptance of homosexuality in men’s sports. In my eyes this is because men are dominantly portrayed to be masculine were as women are feminine. A gay man however is seen as feminine like a woman. This is why when homosexuality comes about in women’s sports the acceptance is more likely to happen. Gay women may have a stigma that they are more masculine than feminine, but the perception of importance surrounding gay men switching to femininity is far greater. In simpler words when a man becomes gay he is seen as a women. When a women because gay she is still seen as a women. This is the main reason homosexuality in men’s sport receives little acceptance.
ReplyDelete- Jay Clark
In response to everyone's criticism of Jason Collins’ timing of choosing to come out as gay, I think there are valid points, but there is likely more to the story. While it is not unheard of for celebrities to try to cling on to their 15 minutes of fame by doing something drastic towards the end, they usually have had a short burst of popularity prior to their final attempt to hold on to their fame. Jason Collins was not a household name by any means, and as you can tell from my classmates comments, his play was nothing to make note of either. This is why I disagree that this was an attempt to become a big name.
ReplyDeleteRather, I believe his coming out felt right for him at that time for a number of reasons. We all have something we battle and struggle with as individuals, and sometimes what we are fighting against is small, but in the case of the homophobic sports world and homophobic society as a whole, I think Jason Collins saw his career coming to a close and chose to, instead of keep his secret hidden, use his prominence as an opportunity to shake up our societies perceptions of gay athletes while he still was relevant as an active team sports player.
-Whitney
I’m not sure why Jason Collins came out when he did however I know it took tremendous courage to do so. Whether or not he was on the wrong side of his career, he was still a nationally known professional athlete who was sure to come under intense scrutiny just so he could live his life in the most comfortable way possible. While he may not have assuredly had another NBA contract coming his way, by coming out he knew he was jeopardizing his chances of continuing his playing career. Had Collins not come out, there are numerous teams in the NBA who could use a 7 foot center who knows how to play hard and play good defense. As many have noted the “Tebow Effect” may now be taking place but I don’t think that was an aspect of coming out that Collins wanted. I’m sure, in his ideal world, he comes out to the public, deals with the effects of that whatever they may be, and then continues his basketball career. I understand that Collins may have another career lined up as an LBGT speaker, however to a man who has made millions already, I can’t imagine the timing of the biggest announcement of his life was financially motivated.
ReplyDeleteMax Perry
Jason Collins coming out put NBA Teams in a difficult position. He was already at the end of his career, yet now because of his coming out, it may appear that teams will not sign him due to his sexual orientation. It is unfair, however, to criticize him for his coming out because obviously it was a difficult, yet monumental step for his life and the lives of many other gay athletes. I believe the true impact of a gay athlete will come when it is either an established star of a team, still in his prime, or a new player entering into the league. These circumstances will force teams to show how accepting they will be and whether they will stand up for their players regardless of sexual orientation.
ReplyDeleteShaun Higgins