Jason Collins isn't the first openly Gay professional athlete. But he is the first active player in a U.S. Major sport. Soccer to us but football to the rest of the world had one, Justin Fashanu but he wasn't in the U.S. Now we have our second, Robbie Roberts is back and practicing with the L.A. Galaxy of the MLS. Robbie Roberts retired from Soccer when he came out in February. That didn't take long.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mls/2013/05/24/robbie-rogers-mls-galaxy-openly-gay/2160105/
"First Openly Gay ACTIVE PRO in a MAJOR U.S. sport". That's a lot of specifics. It still is significant. This country is changing. While there are still some homophobic people around they are less likely to be vocal about their views knowing there are a lot more people who support GLBT rights. Fans with Gay insults are much more likely to get insulted right back. When a celebrity or member of the media make a homophobic comment, they receive negative backlash and have to apologize publicly. Just as Chris Culliver. He plays for the 49ers and made homophobic comments leading up to the Super Bowl. The country took linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo's side. Ayanbadejo was a linebacker for the 2013 Champion Baltimore Ravens. This is a good time to see what God really thinks of Gay rights.
Just like last year. The only two teams to make the Super Bowl after the lockout were the only ones who's owners where being reasonable in the negotiations (My NY Giants who won and the respectable NE Patriots). After that I am convinced that God has a hand in the Super Bowl.
I will take a minute to mention Chris Kluwe. He was a kicker of the Minnesota Vikings who openly supports Gay rights. He was released this offseason. I doubt the first active NFL openly gay player will be a Viking after that. I find myself hoping one of the players on my teams will be openly gay even if it's through a trade. Below is a list of openly Gay athletes. It's a long list but at the end I talk about the NHL's "If You Can Play, You Can Play" campaign.
We can only do so much for Zach. We can be accepting of everyone for who they are and teach him to be friends with anyone who is nice and follows rules. But the more he goes out into the world the more he will encounter people with different views. We hope that these values we teach carry on but some people, mainly pre-teens and teens, might change views just to be friends with the cool kids.
I've seen Zach's birthday party R.S.V.P. list, he's one of the cool kids. As I type this I received a belated "yes" for a girl in his class, One of three girls that will be there. We are at 19 kids (only 6 aren't from school) and I still have to hear from two. All his friends are all awesome. Their parents have similar values to us when it comes to things like "personality is all that matters". He's drawn to the kids that want to play with anyone and everyone. I hope that never changes. We tell him all the time that it's something about him that we are proud of.
Jason Collin's coming out was different. It meant that other Gay athletes in this country at any level can feel little better about coming out themselves. He maintained all his endorsements and that's a positive sign too. He's a Veteran that is well liked by former teammates and brings a lot to his team.
Below is a timeline of Gay Athletes. I got it from the article below but am summing it up. The year in red next to the player's name is the year that player came out.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1623032-jason-collins-comes-out-as-gay-a-timeline-of-athletes-and-homosexuality
David Kopay, 1975: Retired from football in 1972. When a former teammate anonymously talked about the difficulty of being a Gay pro in a newspaper, he thought it might be a former lover and did an interview himself. without outing hid former teammate and lover. That lover, Jerry Smith, died of AIDS in 1986 and that's when Kopay revealed that they had had one sexual encounter. In 1977 Kopay wrote of book The David Kopay Story: An Extraordinary Self-Revelation
John Curry, 1976: A British figure skater outed in a tabloid. It wasn't widely talked about until his HIV turned into AIDS in the 1990s.
Billie Jean King, 1981: A female tennis star who famously beating Bobby Riggs in the "battle of the sexes. She didn't have control of it either. A former partner, Marilyn Barnett, sued her for Palimony. The affair took place during her marriage. She was the first OUT female athlete.
Martina Navratilova, 1981: She came out on her own shortly after becoming a U.S. Citizen. She had partnered with Billy Jean King the year before to win the U.S. Open.
Glenn Burke, 1982: A Baseball player he came out to his teammates while playing in 1977. It was the wrong time to come out publicly though so while his supportive Dodgers teammates used high 5's as a secret gay pride gesture, the team owners weren't happy. He was traded to the A's and an unhappy Billy Martin. He officially came out in an article in Inside Sports and a book Out, The Glen Burke Story. He died of AIDS in 1995
Justin Fashanu, 1990: An English Football Player (meaning Soccer). He was an active player when he came out but it was more an "open secret". He was also Black and overall dealt with a lot of prejudice. In 1998 he hung himself after being accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy.
Roy Simmons, 1992: An NFL Lineman finishing his career with the Washington Redskins. He came out 8 years after retirement on The Phil Donahue Show In the mid-late '90s he developed HIV. He too wrote a book Out of Bounds.
Savoy Howe, 1993: She was an active boxer when she came out. One of the first women to box in Toronto. She came out in a documentary on the Canadian Sports Network TSN
Greg Louganis, 1994: A Pro-Diver who came out in a speech during the opening ceremony of Gay Games IV in New York. Rumors had started long before that. In 1988 he tested positive for HIV and then hit his head on the diving board at the Seoul Games. He now is the voice and face of HIV/AIDS awareness and remains in good health.
Ian Roberts, 1995: He was an active Rugby star in England when he came out. Rumors had started years before. He had the support of his teammates. Now he's an Actor in Australia
Missy Giove, 1995: A Downhill Mountain Biker, She was a Junior Skier before that. She was an active Pro when she came out and after still appeared in Reebok commercials.
Muffin Spencer-Devlin, 1996: An Active Pro female Golfer when she came out, she also came out in Sports Illustrated.
Rudy Galindo, 1996: Is a male figure skater. He was active when he came out in Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey Into the World of Figure Skating. In 1997 he wrote the book Icebreaker. In 2000 he announced he was HIV positive.
Patrick Jeffrey and David Pichler, 1996: Both active divers when they came out, they were inspired by Greg Louganis.
Mark Tewksbury, 1998: A Canadian Olympic Swimmer, he almost came out in 1993. Under "Anonymous" he did an interview for Inside Track called "The Last Closet. A 6 figured contract he had to be a Motivational Speaker was rescinded because her was "too openly Gay".
Amelie Mauresmo, 1999: An active female Tennis player, she came out before she peaked at age 19. In 2004 she became the first Lesbian ranked #1.
Billy Bean, 1999: Not the "Moneyball" Billy Bean. He retired from Baseball before coming out.
Esera Tuaolo, 2002: He was the last NFL player to take down John Elway. He was a Defensive Tackle for 9 years and came out after retirement on Real Sports.
2004 Athens Olympics featured 11 openly Gay athletes. "two Americans (Guenter Seidel and Robert Dover), two Britons (Carl Hester and Rob Newton), one Frenchwoman (Amelie Mauresmo), one Czech (Martina Navratilova), one Spaniard (Conchita Martinez), one New Zealander (Blyth Tait), one Dutchman (Johan Kenkhuis) and two Germans (Imke Duplitzer and Judith Arndt)—with Kenkhuis emerging as the lone medalist from the group."
Sheryl Swoopes, 2005: The first actively playing WNBA player, she came out in ESPN Magazine. She has a long relationship with a retired WNBA player, Alisa Scott. They raised her son from a previous relationship together. In 2011 they ended their relationship and she reportedly got engaged to a man. She might be Bisexual but hasn't announced it yet.
John Amaechi, 2007: Until Collin's announcement he was the only NBA player to ever come out but he did it after retiring. He came out in his book Man In The Middle.He got mixed responses.
Olivier Rouyer, 2008: A French Soccer player, he didn't come out until long after playing and coaching.
Matthew Mitcham, 2008: An Australian Olympic Diver who won gold in Beijing in 2008, he was the only openly Gay athlete to play in the Beijing Olympics.
Gareth Thomas, 2009: An active Rugby player when he came out, he had previously been married (divorced in 2007) to his High School sweetheart.
Donal Og Cusack, 2009: A pro-Hurler, he never struggled with his sexuality and never lived a double life. He's still an active player.
Johnny Weir, 2011: A Champion Olympic Figure Skater, he came out in his book Welcome to my World.
Steven Davies, 2011: He was the first Cricket player to come out publicly. Inspired by Gareth Thomas.
Anton Hysen, 2011: Until recently, he was the only Actively playing Soccer player in the world. I'm sure he welcomes Robbie Roberts.
Rick Welts, 2011: He isn't an athlete. He was the President and CEO of the Phoenix Suns of the NBA when he came out. He now holds the same post for the Golden State Warriors. He's the first high-ranking American Sports executive to be Opening Gay
Alan Gendreau, 2012: He's a free agent looking for a job in a Major American Sports league, the NFL. He has been out since High School but was passed in the 2012 draft as a kicker and hasn't found a team yet.
Wade Davis, 2012: After spending 4 years trying to break into the NFL as a Defensive Back he retired due to injury in 2003. He did play in preseason games for a few teams, the Tennessee Titans, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Washington Redskins. He came out on outsports.com
Megan Rapinoe, 2012: Star on the U.S. Women's National Soccer team (a twin like Jason Collins), She's still playing.
Orlando Cruz, 2012: A Boxer, he's still active and the only openly Gay boxer.
Kwame Harris, 2013: He played in the NFL for the SF 49ers and Oakland Raiders but came out long after retiring.
Robbie Rogers, 2013: In February he retired at age 25 in the prime of his career. We now know in late April he came out of retirement and is playing for the LA Galaxy in the MLS. The Chicago Fire own his MLS rights and might still be interested in him.
Brittney Griner, 2013: She was out in college and selected #1 in the WNBA draft. She's the first openly Gay athlete to sign an endorsement deal after coming out.
Jason Collins, 2013: Two weeks after Brittney Griner made her announcement he came out. As we know, he currently plays in the NBA and is a free agent.
There are probably many more Gay athletes who have not come out publicly. I hope that of those that are still alive, all the announcements in recent years will help them come out themselves. This is a long list. This post took me two hours to write. But I wanted to do it because if it gets to a Gay athlete it might give them the strength to come out themselves. I think the leagues are ready. In the right circumstances with the right Owner(s), Coaches, Teammates, and Fans it can be a positive experience. I hope it is. I hope more teams across the leagues start to fit the right circumstances. The NHL already has the "If you can play, you can play" campaign going. It's Hockey players saying that all that matters in a teammate is if they have the talent and drive to win. That's true everywhere as most of these athletes have proved (Sorry, Alan Gendreau). Sexuality doesn't effect a person's talents.
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