The First Openly Gay Active Pro Athlete

[miami_fan]

Something that has been brought up that I had never thought about it. Everyone seems to be saying that the NBA was always going to be the first sports to have a active player come out. Here is a piece from one article that seems to be a point of agreement by many in the media:

Metta World Peace, NBA community supports Collins' decision to come out - NBA - Lee Jenkins - SI.com

Different sports foster different values that evolve into different cultures. In football, you hear about the need to be disciplined. In basketball, you hear about the need to be free. In football, players camouflage their personalities, because 11 must work as one. In basketball, players showcase their identities, because one often carries five. The institutions are as different as Tom Brady and Chris "Birdman" Andersen. "Be you," NBA coaches tell their players, a kind of league-wide mantra. Ty Lawson drives. Steph Curry shoots. Rajon Rondo passes. Tyson Chandler dunks. Only a fool would try to change them. For 12 years, Collins screened. His role might have seemed frivolous to those who didn't have to chase guards around his 7-0, 255-pound physique. Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and the old New Jersey Nets reached two NBA Finals bounding off those screens. Be you? "Twin," as Collins was known in Jersey, seemed like an expert. But only now has he completed the job.

[Danny]

Stole it from Jon Stewart, but the 1:00 mark cracked me up.

Obama: 'Couldn't Be Prouder' of Jason Collins - YouTube

[SegRat]

Rumors going around that Aaron Rodgers is about to be outed by former lover. Supposedly Rodgers almost came out last Sumer.

[claphamsa]

lol

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by SegRat

Rumors going around that Aaron Rodgers is about to be outed by former lover. Supposedly Rodgers almost came out last Sumer.

I'll believe it when it happens, but if it was a "marquee" player like that that would be good for like...it being accepted by the homophobic-public and teammates.

[lungs]

Lately we have a thing in Wisconsin with whispering about the sexuality of our unmarried superstars. Ryan Braun was gay before steroids.

[Dutch]

Good thing for him we haven't banned polygamy, I guess.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

The tweets by his supposed ex are... interesting.

Aaron Rodgers Gay Rumors: Did He and Boyfriend Kevin Lanflisi Break Up? - The Hollywood Gossip

Hope he wins another Super Bowl & comes out just to get this whole thing about no marquee athletes being in the closet over with.

[Thomkal]

Hard to believe the rumors are true, but it would be huge if they are and he came out along with the three others mentioned in the article. Would probably open the floodgates and many more would come out.

[JPhillips]

I'm gay Spartacus!

[Draft Dodger]

makes you wonder if that factored into him falling so far in the draft...(and if so, glad that he made a lot of teams pay)

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

makes you wonder if that factored into him falling so far in the draft...(and if so, glad that he made a lot of teams pay)

I had the same thought

[bhlloy]

A fair amount of smoke there... I think it would be awesome if one of the first NFL players to come out was one of the best players in the league and a Super Bowl champ. Would have been better if it was on his terms...

[nol]

Did anyone see the similar rumors regarding Tim Duncan when he was getting divorced? At first I just assumed it was the divorce proceedings getting ugly, but this Rodgers story sounds similar with the alleged lover being a roommate early in his pro career. I also found a story with this quote from Duncan's teammate Danny Green.

When asked how he would react to any revelations regarding Duncan’s sexuality, Green expressed support for his teammate. “Timmy is Tim. I’m not going to look at him any differently. He’s my teammate regardless of his sexual preferences,” Green said in the interview. “I haven’t heard anything about it and I definitely haven’t suspected anything. He’s going through some stuff, and that’s what happens when you go through a divorce sometimes. It gets ugly.”

That was a much more interesting answer than an emphatic, "Are you joking?! He's definitely 100 percent straight," not just because of the ambiguity it provides, but because I really think that kind of attitude is the prevailing one in pro sports regarding gay teammates.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

That's weird, because the ABCNews.com headline is: "NBA Star Jason Collins Makes History: 'I'm Gay.'"

Thought this was interesting ...

Jason Collins isn't the first openly gay sports star

[Draft Dodger]

very interesting.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Correction: in one of the big four leagues (or possibly just male in the US). Pretty sure there have been active tennis, women's golf, WNBA, women's soccer players who were out.

+1. This still kind of rubs me wrong. He's not the first openly gay athlete and yet that's what he got promoted at.

[Desnudo]

I reflect back on how much society has changed in a good way on this topic. In that it would be a big deal, but at the same time it wouldn't be. I can say my personal views on this topic have changed dramatically over the past decade.

I am surprised Rodgers likes playing on D. *rimshot*

[SegRat]

Rodgers addressed the rumors on his radio show. " I'm not gay. I really really like women. That's all I have to say about that."