Jason Collins, the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport.
On April 29, 2013, Jason Collins a professional basketball player shocked the world by saying, "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay". As a fan of basketball, I think this is great for the sports world. Hopefully, this act of bravery can inspire other closeted athletes. Being gay has nothing do with his athletic ability and skills. He has received support from many through out the world including other athletes. Unfortunately, he has also received backlash from the sports world.
In this video, a sports analyst labels Collins as a sinner and claims that he is an open rebel to God.
These are a few of the many homophobic tweets he has received from fans.
Questions:
1. Why don't we see many openly homosexual athletes in professional sports?
2. Do you believe Jason Collins will inspire other closeted athletes, or will they be scared of receiving the same backlash?
3. As an athlete, would you be comfortable sharing a change room with a homosexual?
What I think is that there are many gay professional athletes but they don't come out of the closet. Jason Collins was the first one to come out, this is a huge act of bravery form him. The twitter picture is just a fraction of how people will treat him because of his sexuality.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jason Collins will inspire many athletes to come out. They might have been scared of the backlashes before but after seeing what he's been through. I think a lot of them will take the courage and reveal their true identity to the world.
There is nothing wrong with sharing a room with a homosexual as he is just a human being as you and I. I would not mind sharing a change room with a homosexual, he would mind his own business and so would I.
I agree with you about what you said about the tweets. There is definitely going to be backlash. However, that is only a fraction of the reaction and we can't ignore the tremendous support Collins has received.
DeleteThe reason as to why we may not see many athletes as homosexuals is because many athletes like Jason collin might be afraid to come out of their orientation,until they feel like it is the right time, which is why we may not hear of other athletes being homosexual because of the above comments made on twitter about it. Not only will homosexual athletes be afraid of people bashing on his/her professional career but they might also be afraid to loose their fans and being in the media for such reasons. This might also make him/her loose their professional career.As far as me being an athlete goes I think I would be fine with the situation because as a gym class we have always changed with girls or guys, so that wouldn't bother me? why would it bother you?
ReplyDeleteYou have a good point. These athletes may be afraid of being in the media. Even though the media has the ability to raise awareness, some people might prefer a more private life.
DeleteYes, we have always shared a change room with boys and girls. However, being in a change room with homosexuals may be a different situation for some people. I wouldn't be bothered by something I can't control in most cases. I can't control an individual's feelings of attractions. In your opinion, if you can share a change room with a female attracted to females, is it different than sharing a changeroom with a straight male?
I think we dont see homosexual athletes come out is because of their reputation. Just like what happened to Jason, with those idiotic hate tweets, the same thing would happen to any athlete. That is the reason why they dont come out. For your second question, I would have to say it depends on their heart. If they are willing to claim they're gay it's because they don't mind or care. However it might also backfire on others, rather than inspiration, it can be a destruction for them. Yeah I don't think it's a big deal, I mean I'm at the gym 5 days a week, and people there feel like the locker area is like their house, they walk around with nothing but slippers on :(
ReplyDeleteYou're right, revealing homosexuality as an athlete can backfire. Fortunately, in Collins case he has received a lot of support. You made a good point with the idiotic tweets. With the advanced social network today, it becomes easier to spread hate which includes homophobia. I'm sorry about the situation at the gym. You are one tolerant guy.
DeleteI think we dont see many homosexual professional athletes because, just like most gay people, they are scared of what society will say. Professional athletes also have their career at stake so its especially harder for them. Another reason why could be that they themselves dont want to admit it because growing up it was frown upon amongst many societies and it is sill today, so maybe they think something is wrong with them.
ReplyDeleteI think that he could inspire many other athletes because they would see that Jason Collins can do it than so could I. Of course there will be negative feedback like the tweets that you showed above and I dont understand why they even tweeted about it.
As an athlete I would feel uncomfortable in a change room unless the person is blatantly staring or being rude then yeah I would feel uncomfortable.
As I mentioned to Hamza, twitter and social media in general can used as a weapon to spread homophobic views.
DeleteI respect your opinion. Anyone would be uncomfortable from unwanted attention in a change room. Regardless if the the person is gay or straight.
I think we don’t see many athletes who are open to being homosexual in professional sports because with sports there is one think that is considered appropriate and anything outside that norm is wrong and unaccepted. I think the same goes for women playing professional sports, there is a code of conduct and it must be followed, although I do not agree with it, it happen. People are not all accepting to things and open minded, there are people who want to live in their little box and leave it at that.
ReplyDeleteI think he would be inspiring to others but, that would not mean that they can all of a sudden come out and say the truth, they need to think things through and only comment as to when things seem right to them. I think the back lash he is receiving will also play an important role in as to whether others would open up.
I don’t think I would be comfortable with sharing a locker room and I think it would be awkward for every person who knew, you would end up seeing that person differently.
The way women are viewed in professional sports is a good comparison to the situation of gays. Sports does have a code of conduct unfortunately. It is a norm for sports to be played by straight males. I could see why you would have a hard time being comfortable. No one wants to be checked out in a change room period.
DeleteWe view the world based on what is considered to be appropriate. Homosexuality is not part of that. Especially when it comes to sports, there are fans that have a sense of what the players are like. If one day they discover that their perception of the player (or anyone for that matter) was false, it becomes a big deal.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be hate in this world, along with love. Some may accept, and others may not. Athletes might have hardest time coming out because of this. They don't want to be judged negatively by their fans and the world because it's very public. As you've shown the backlashes on Jason Collins.
Personally, it might feel a little awkward to share a change room with a homosexual, but it's okay if they mind their own business while I mind mine. Would you mind sharing a change room with a homosexual? And also Hassan, Would you change your aspect of the player, if you discovered your favourite athlete turned out to be homosexual?
To be honest, I have no desire of being potentially checked out my a gay man while changing my clothes. The fact of a matter is, a man is a man. I can't control his emotions. A gay man will change in a man's change room. As long as the man minds his own business, I'm fine.
DeleteIf my favorite athlete came out gay, I would be shocked. I'm not sure if my aspect would change. However, I would still respect his skill for the game. Homosexuality doesn't make you any less of an athlete.
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ReplyDeleteOne theory is that there are so many homophobic people out there, so athletes might not feel comfortable by coming out. Similar to Frank Ocean, athletes who might come out would probably face a lot of backlash from the public and fans, because it is almost a taboo. It isn’t seen a lot today, but maybe, if homosexual people become more prevalent then people will begin to accept them.
ReplyDeleteI want to believe that by coming out, Collins will inspire more closeted athletes to come out, but in reality, if they are afraid of backlash, then they won’t come out. If they are at the top of their game, then they don’t want to run the risk of loosing their fame, because that would mean that they would loose endorsement deals and money, and to be blunt, no one wants to loose money.
Even though I know that someone who is gay/lesbian isn’t attracted to every man/women, that they see, I still wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing a change room with someone who is homosexual or lesbian. I don’t have anything against them, I just don’t have the confidence/audacity to do that.
In today's society perhaps being gay is a taboo. When you do something out of the norm, it will grab attention. Ironically, coming out made Jason Collins more famous. He has been receiving endorsement deals because of his act. Maybe it is not a money issue. Is it strictly the backlash?
DeleteI actually didn't know that he got more endorsement deals after he came out. Maybe companies liked his charisma? I can't really say for sure. I still think that it might be a money issue. Just because Collins came out, and got more publicity/endorsement deals, doesn't mean that everyone else who comes out will. At the end of the day, people will look at their own benefit and if they don't feel comfortable coming out, then they won't.
DeleteHe obviously got endorsements due to him being the first to come out. You are correct, people will look at their own benefit before coming out. Not only in the sports world, but the real world as well. In today's world, I think any pro athlete would get endorsed for being openly gay.
DeleteI think we don't see many professional athletes admitting their homosexuality because they do not want to take the risk of losing fans. They don't want to risk their career for something they can hide. It is possible that a lot of them are afraid of judgments and want to be known for their ability to play sports rather than their homosexuality.
ReplyDeleteI do believe he has inspired many individuals, maybe because of his action other athletes will come out and say the truth about themselves. They maybe afraid of the backlash but informing their fans about the real them matters more to them than the backlash of few individuals.
I don't really know. I don't think i would have a problem if the athlete was already in a relationship but if they weren't already in a relationship i might.
As I mentioned before, Jason Collins was not that popular before this. Most people have not heard of him before he came out the closet. Did you know about him before all this? I understand why you are not sure about how you would feel in the change room. It is hard to know until you have actually been in that situation.
DeleteTheres a lot of complications and obligations that come with the life of professional athlete such as maintaining a certain image. The reason why we dont see most gay professional athletes come out is because having that image is not congruent with the typical persona of a professional athlete and therefore the fear scrutany is faced those player considering that they may or may not attract it from their fans, teamates, organization, as well as the public as your tweets show. I believe that Jason Collins coming out is athletes to come out. I predict we may see a few, if any come inspirational but I do not believe that it will inspire other in the closet athletes to come out and share it with the world. As an athlete i be would fine about sharing a changeroom with a homosexual teamate simply because i am comforatable with my sexuality and have no fear of homosexuals considering.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, being an athlete puts you in the spotlight. It is up to that athlete to maintain a certain image. Athletes should only face criticism for their immoral actions and poor play in the sport. It is sad that sexual orientation is taken into consideration for this perfect "image".
DeleteI think that most closeted athletes dont come out because they are too worried about their own image. They wouldn't want anything to tarnish what they worked so hard to achieve, even if its their sexuality. I believe Jason Collins will inspire other athletes in the future because of his bravery. To me? Gays should have human rights and should be able to have the same rights as other teammates in the locker room. I am aware of my sexuality and although I am not gay, it doesn't mean that they shouldn't have the same rights as I do.
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DeleteYou are right, a gay man has every right to change in a MAN's change room. The same goes for a gay woman. People tend to ignore human rights when it comes to their own beliefs. You don't, so I applaud you. Respecting rights is one thing. The question is, would you feel comfortable in the change room?
DeleteThe reason we don't see many openly homosexual athletes is because of those faggots tweeting stuff like that. It's because of those kind of imbeciles that people get pressured and suicide afterwards. I think because of his bravery of revealing of his true likes, it will inspire other athletes too because tweets can't harm them physically, mentally yes a little but they know i bet how to fight it.
ReplyDeleteFor the last question, i think it will be awkward sharing a change room but it really depends on understanding and trust that whether they will or will not "attack" you from behind.
You are bashing homophobia with gay slurs. That is pretty ironic. I have seen someone close be driven to the brink of suicide. Suicide is a serious issue, hopefully Collins does not contemplate. Sometimes mental pain is worse than a physical beating. When I say change room, I am not talking about prison. You don't have to worry about being "attacked".
DeleteWhy are you worried about being "attacked" from behind by a gay man?
Personally, I believe that the reason for the lack of openly gay athletes in sports is due to the fact that the majority of sports are dominated by black athletes, and since homosexuality is a taboo subject in the black community, many refrain from being overt with their sexual orientation.
ReplyDeleteI hold no hatred towards homosexuals, however as an athlete sharing a changing room with a gay individual would make me feel extremely uncomfortable. The purpose of having changing rooms catered to the same sex are for individuals to feel secure and comfortable undressing without having to worry about being checked out by the opposite sex. Therefor sharing a changing room with an individual who is attracted to the same sex would would take away from the sense of security that one is suppose to feel in changing rooms.
I think the reason why there are barely any openly homosexuals in sports is because they fear that they will lose their reputation. Especially with those with hurtful tweets that those people posted, people would be afraid of opening up to the audience. I believe that Jason Collins has opened on some homosexuals and pushed back for others after those tweets. I wouldn't really care if I was in a change room with a homosexual unless if that person starts to cross the line by getting all touchy.
ReplyDeleteI think why athletes don't come out as gay is because they do not want the negative attention the will get such as those tweets. They also probably do not want to be judged by their teammates and players of other teams. I think sharing a changing room with an athlete that likes the same sex would be no issue because it is a men's changing room. Changing rooms aren't divided by sexual orientation, if that was the case then why shouldn't gay men use women washrooms? He has shared a change room for this long and athletes have had no problem so why would they now?
ReplyDeleteThe reason why we don't see many openly homosexual athletes in professional sports is because they don't want to put their profession at risk by losing their reputation. I also agree with Ashley's point on black athletes being very cautious about this issue. Jason Collins coming out about being gay shocked me because he is a black male who plays professional basketball. Your profession in any way should not define your sexual orientation, but being a gay black professional athlete is very rare and not common in today's society. He might inspire other closeted athletes but that depends on the person. If they don't care about all the backlash and judgement that may come with coming out of the closet, then they may follow Jason Collins. If the person is someone who is scared of recieving backlash, then they might not come out. In my opinion, I believe that if you are gay, you should come out and disregard anything anyone has to say if it's not support. I honestly don't know how I would feel sharing a change room with a homosexual because I've never been in that type of predicament before. It may be awkward but every human is entitled to rights. Just because they are homosexual, it doesn't mean they can't use a change room with the same sex.
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