Monday, November 18, 2013
Why Jason Collins is Coming Out Now- Corey Krupa
It is pretty amazing to think that America did not have an active openly gay male athlete playing in a team sport until 2013. I could not imagine how difficult it must have been for Jason Collins to come out, especially since he was the first one to do so. I think that there are other male athletes currently playing that are afraid to come out because they fear being treated differently. Many players in sports leagues such as the NBA and NFL are known for making nasty homophobic remarks. However, it is nice to know that athletes such as Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo are supportive of Jason’s decision to come out. I feel that there are probably other players who support his decision, but do not want to say so because they also don’t want to be treated differently. It is sad that Jason Collins had to “live a double life” as mentioned in the article because he didn’t want anybody to know his secret. I think that Jason Collins over the course of his career has proved that gay athletes are no different from straight athletes. He seems like a true professional and I wish that he was still playing in the NBA because it would be interesting to hear the crowds’ reactions towards him. I think that he would get mostly mixed reactions in away games, and positive reactions with home crowds. The NBA is known for doing campaigns to help the community and I think that the NBA could have done a campaign with Collins to help promote equality for the LGBT community.
-Corey Krupa
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I have great respect for anyone who takes pride in something they believe is right. My only concern with being openly gay on a men’s team is the distraction it causes the team to have. Sure you may be doing the right thing in a certain light but to your team such a decision may be saw as a selfish one. Announcing that you are gay on a men’s team brings interviews not only to you but also to coaches and other people in the operation. These people never agreed to support such movements. They now are distracted from their job that they are suppose to be doing which could hurt the teams chances of winning games. In this light the decision to come out with your homosexuality seems a little selfish. It is not to say that gays shouldn’t be supported in men’s sports but that gays should recognize the burden they may put on others when coming out. For now in today’s society this is something that occurs and hopefully one day it does not have to.
ReplyDelete-Jay Clark
Corey Krupa,
ReplyDeleteIn my honest opinion Jason Collins hasn't made any real difference in affecting homophobia in sports because he is no longer playing. Jason Collins will probably never play again because of the distraction his coming out has created is bigger than his production he can serve for an NBA franchise. Therefore, he is really not making a difference to the culture of the locker room. The homophobic remarks won't stop just because a guy who may never play in the NBA again has come out as gay. If he really wanted to inflict change he would've came out a long time. I personally think that Jason Collins knew he has ran his course as an NBA player and could no longer bare the secret of living a lie. The fact that people are giving him credit for being courageous is good but he did it for selfish reasons not to change the culture of how homosexuality is perceived in sport.
Jude