America has Changed: Gay Players in Sports

This is a topic that I rarely like talking about because of the sensitivity of it. But with NBA player Jason Collins coming out and saying that he’s gay; why not?

There are millions of gay and lesbians living in the United States today and they’re just like you and me. They are human beings too and deserve to be treated as one. I never had a problem with what people do. I look at it as do what you do and I do what I do; period. Who are we to judge? Like they say, we all have skeletons in our own closets.

Life is just too short to focus on things that don’t matter. We as people should be lifting each other up and make this country and world much better. But this story has shaken up the country and the sports world as we know it.

There has been this stigma for centuries about being homosexual. It has been known to be a big sin if you were. Those times have definitely changed in the last two decades in the United States. People are coming together as one nation and people to accept differences because we all can’t be the same and that makes life so wonderful.

It’s not about what you like in your sexuality but on who you are as a person; that is most important today. With Jason Collins coming out and telling the world that he’s gay, it changes the game in sports. We all know that they’re many gay sports players in the major sports across the country but they wouldn’t dare to say they are.

The reason for this is because they don’t want the backlash and the embarrassment for coming out to the public. When I say embarrassment I mean to the people that don’t accept homosexuality in this country. Many people do care about what others say and think.

People let’s be real with ourselves because it still exists and still will for many years. It’s all about how you’re raised and what your elders and peers are teaching you when you’re young. If you are taught to accept all types of people when you’re young, it won’t be a big issue when you get older to accept homosexual people.

You can’t change everyone but the masses are more receptive to homosexuality in this country. The reports that have been going on in the news and radio is that how will Jason Collins be treated in the locker rooms? Will players want to be in the same room with him? These are the concerns of the sports world.

It’s funny because he’s been there for 12 years with these guys and they had no idea that he was gay. People put too much emphasis in this and I personally don’t think it’s a big story because in New York City we are surrounded by people that are homosexual and it isn’t a problem at all. They are good people that work hard every day and just living their lives.

Do I think that Collins did this for publicity? Who knows? Maybe, but I’m not sure. Nike just gave him a lucrative sneaker deal for doing what he did. This was a player that was a bench-warmer for years and now he’s the toast of the town. This is just a topic that many don’t want to touch on and will be very sensitive for many years to come.

I just don’t see all of these gay active sports players coming out the closet just because Jason Collins did. Some just die with this secret.