First openly gay athlete

[beez]

It's nothing like Jackie Robinson for several reasons. There was/is no institutional effort to prevent gays from playing professional sports. There are no "gay" and "straight" water fountains. There was never a parallel professional Gay-B-A where it was evident that gays were as good a straights but were not welcome in the league. And the pioneering has already been completed by the large acceptance of gays in society in general. We have gay soldiers, CEOs, and politicians. Even TV characters. That clinches it! Corporate America markets gay! What's the rumpus of being a gay athlete in "2013?" Martina Navratilova kinda already stole Collins's thunder, years ago, and there was not much of a splash about it. Had Collins come out in 1965, he could considered a true pioneer. To me, he's just leveraging the times. And about us patting ourselves on the back for being so accepting. We need to pat ourselves on the back too much these days. It's not healthy.

You and I both know a gay female is far more accepted than a gay male, ESPECIALLY in the owrld of sports. How many gay men would be accepted on the ofotball field or basketball court? It would be bullying level 1000

Black people- hated by the sports world
Gay males- hated by the sports world

black people- outcasts among pro sports
gay males- outcasts among pro sports

black people- treated like shit and struggled to gain human rights
gay males- treated like shit and struggle to gain human rights

black people- called names and tormented
gay males- called names and tormented

jackie robinson- a pioneer who helped lead the way for black athletes in major sports
Jason Collins- a pioneer who's helping lead the way for gay male athletes in major sports

I don't think they could be much more similar in the message they portray. If athletes don't come out n show that it's ok for them to be who they are and to stop hiding it then it never will be. You say who cares but the truth is the majority of the world cares which is why it's a problem. If people were to find out about a gay NBA player, people would make fun of him, they'd say they aren't playing with faggots, people would constantly makes jokes until he literally broke down n quit. Why do you think the question is raised so often? "What if you had a gay teamate?" It's an issue and he should be applauded for stepping out from the shadows. Cowering and keeping to yourself isn't going to change anything.

Imagine the outrage that would ensue if Carmelo Anthony was seen holding a guys hand after a game. He'd be the laughing stock of the league and the things said to him on the court would be insane.

As for seperate drinking fountains etc..you don't think if players could take a vote, gay athletes would have different locker rooms? Hell they probably would vote them out of the league in a lot of cases. It's not accepted even if it's not as bad as it was in the 60's.

 

[beez]

My intent wasn't to say that this guy is as heroic as Jackie Robinson, it was really just to compare. He is the closest thing the male gay community has to a jackie Robinson at this point.

 

[byco42]

You and I both know a gay female is far more accepted than a gay male, ESPECIALLY in the owrld of sports. How many gay men would be accepted on the ofotball field or basketball court? It would be bullying level 1000


As for seperate drinking fountains etc..you don't think if players could take a vote, gay athletes would have different locker rooms? Hell they probably would vote them out of the league in a lot of cases. It's not accepted even if it's not as bad as it was in the 60's.

If you think that there not rooms in professional sports where there are gay players who are known to be gay by their teammates, you are mistaken. Denny McLain, on the radio, told his listeners, in a discussion about gay teammates, that there were several Tigers on the 1968 squad who were gay, all the players knew they were gay and no one cared or made an issue of it. This was at a time when the reaction to discovering someone was gay was virtually visceral in nature.

And I doubt that the 1968 Tigers were the exception -- of baseball or of any professional sport. There's nothing new under the sun and especially this topic. Collins is riding a wave of acceptance, while Robinson jumped into a current of opposition.

This presented itself today:

In 1969, the year before his death, the only year he coached the Redskins, Lombardi worked with at least five gay men -- three players and two front-office executives, including David Slattery, who would come out in 1993. In his defining biography, "When Pride Still Mattered," author David Maraniss described the scene of Lombardi charging an assistant to work with one of the gay players, a struggling back named Ray McDonald. "And if I hear one of you people make reference to his manhood," Lombardi is quoted as saying, "you'll be out of here before your ass hits the ground."

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/9237535/vince-lombardi-proud-jason-collins

 

[tinselwolverine]

Don't tell me one of them was Bill Freehan?

He never wrote anything about that in Behind the Mask.

 

[jdeb]

to clean those ears, you'd need several bars.

lol

 

[byco42]

Don't tell me one of them was Bill Freehan?

He never wrote anything about that in Behind the Mask.

I don't know but Roy Face, a member of that '68 team, is 85 years old.

 

[jdeb]

At he end of the day, what does a fudge packer change in my life? OK I am exit only, does that make me a different?

 

[tigersofjustice]

At he end of the day, what does a fudge packer change in my life? OK I am exit only, does that make me a different?

My guess is Jason Collins is a top.

 

[tinselwolverine]

My guess is Jason Collins is a top.

Ya think?

 

[tinselwolverine]

I don't know but Roy Face, a member of that '68 team, is 85 years old.

Freehan wrote Behind the Mask the same season as some former New York Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton wrote a book titled Ball Four.

Have you ever heard of Jim Bouton, or Ball Four?

 

[tinselwolverine]

Freehan wrote Behind the Mask the same season as some former New York Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton wrote a book titled Ball Four.

Have you ever heard of Jim Bouton, or Ball Four?

Oh, by the way...

 

[Mitchrapp]

I heard of him and the book but I'm gifted.

 

[byco42]

Freehan wrote Behind the Mask the same season as some former New York Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton wrote a book titled Ball Four.

Have you ever heard of Jim Bouton, or Ball Four?

No. Who's he, some guy like George Plimpton?