Last Monday, NBA player Jason Collins announced that he was gay.
In doing so, he became the first openly gay NBA player, or even the first
openly gay player in any of the four American team sports organizations
for that matter (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL). This is a huge step forward for the LGBT
community as it is a giant push towards tolerance. Tolerance which many don’t
have, and some people need.
Collins’ decision to come out recieved different reactions from
different groups. While many, such as NBA commissioner David Stern, his twin
brother Jarron, his teammates and coaches, and even corporate sponsor Nike
supported him all releasing several press statements, a select few,
particularly NFL players Mike Wallace and Alphonso Smith, along with former
Knick Larry Johnson, spoke about Collins in a rather condescending, and in my
opinion, extremely inappropriate manner. Especially Smith, who later tweeted
that “it's a shame I have to apologize for my TRUE feelings.” I don’t know
about you, but this kind of thing really bothers me.
Who’s seen Bambi? Most of us have. In Bambi, Thumper says “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” That’s a pretty nice quote, and I love it; but I also feel like some people should listen to little old Thumper. A lot of problems could be avoided this way, and people would be happier. To some, Jason Collins is an inspiration; so why do others feel the need to hate and criticize?
story from:
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9223657/jason-collins-first-openly-gay-active-player
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