Jason Collins’ announcement on Monday was truly monumental: No matter what his future NBA performance looks like, he will forever be remembered as the first openly gay athlete on a major American sports league team. The palpable buzz both on campus and on social media Web sites gave you a sense that Jason Collins is certainly a name we will read in the history books. Amidst all the elation over this mark of progress and courage, however, we should not lose sight of this startling fact: in the year 2013, there is only one openly gay athlete in the four most-watched team sports in the country.
The United States has numerous gay public figures in politics, entertainment, and business now, but notably fewer in sports. As a college athlete, I cannot explain this phenomenon. It could be the incongruous stereotypes of what it means to be an athlete and what it means to be gay. It could be the oft-cited “locker room culture” that is less than gay-friendly (The HPR’s Paul Schied wrote eloquently on this subject last year). It could be athletes’ fears that discrimination will hurt their professional advancement. Without knowing the cause, it’s more difficult to address the problem, but that does not mean we in the sports community should not try.
Making athletics a more open place for gay Americans will certainly require active support from both sports organizations, including coaches, and team members themselves. Both groups took a great leap forward yesterday by explicitly expressing their support for Collins. NBA Commissioner David Stern, Washington Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, and numerous past Collins coaches all quickly tweeted their praise for the announcement. Collins’ former teammates were equally supportive. Even before Monday, major league organizations were making progress: the NHL announced its partnership with the advocacy organization You Can Play to fight homophobia in hockey last month.
On the ground level, we athletes should carry forward this momentum of acceptance. We must be more careful about language used in the locker room that might put down, even inadvertently, gay teammates. We clearly have not made enough progress in this area yet; just look at the exceedingly few active openly gay athletes. Most wait to come out until they retire, if at all. Coaches too need to enforce tolerant behavior, especially at young ages. I hope that Jason Collins’ announcement will spark the mindfulness and deeper understanding necessary for change.
While Monday’s news is an enormously positive step, the work has only begun to better accept our gay teammates. Sports and the values they foster–teamwork, discipline, and hard work–are important, and the athletic experience should be available to all people, without them having to hide a part of themselves.
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