NFT: Jason Collins is teh ghey

[Planetman]

NTTAWWT

Why NBA center Jason Collins is coming out now

By Jason Collins with Franz Lidz

This story appears in the May 6, 2013, issue of Sports Illustrated.

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

My journey of self-discovery and self-acknowledgement began in my hometown of Los Angeles and has taken me through two state high school championships, the NCAA Final Four and the Elite Eight, and nine playoffs in 12 NBA seasons.

I've played for six pro teams and have appeared in two NBA Finals. Ever heard of a parlor game called Three Degrees of Jason Collins? If you're in the league, and I haven't been your teammate, I surely have been one of your teammates' teammates. Or one of your teammates' teammates' teammates.

Now I'm a free agent, literally and figuratively. I've reached that enviable state in life in which I can do pretty much what I want. And what I want is to continue to play basketball. I still love the game, and I still have something to offer. My coaches and teammates recognize that. At the same time, I want to be genuine and authentic and truthful.

Why am I coming out now? Well, I started thinking about this in 2011 during the NBA player lockout. I'm a creature of routine. When the regular season ends I immediately dedicate myself to getting game ready for the opener of the next campaign in the fall. But the lockout wreaked havoc on my habits and forced me to confront who I really am and what I really want. With the season delayed, I trained and worked out. But I lacked the distraction that basketball had always provided.

The first relative I came out to was my aunt Teri, a superior court judge in San Francisco. Her reaction surprised me. "I've known you were gay for years," she said. From that moment on I was comfortable in my own skin. In her presence I ignored my censor button for the first time. She gave me support. The relief I felt was a sweet release. Imagine you're in the oven, baking. Some of us know and accept our sexuality right away and some need more time to cook. I should know -- I baked for 33 years.

When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.

I realized I needed to go public when Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told me he had just marched in Boston's 2012 Gay Pride Parade. I'm seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy. I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn't even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator. If I'd been questioned, I would have concocted half truths. What a shame to have to lie at a celebration of pride. I want to do the right thing and not hide anymore. I want to march for tolerance, acceptance and understanding. I want to take a stand and say, "Me, too."

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Carlota69

Well, they can be fired in 29 states for simply being gay. They also cant recieve pensions from their deceased partners, or file taxes jointly. They cant make medical decisions for their partners either. The list goes on....

Our language is sloppy, unfortunately. When people talk about "rights", sometimes they are talking about the inalienable kind that our founding fathers discussed (e.g. freedom of speech, free exercise of religion, etc.), but sometimes they are talking about a lesser kind of right granted by the legislature (e.g. the right to collect a social security check if you've reached a certain age and satisfy certain criteria). The former, at least theoretically, can't be taken away by government. The latter can.

This leads to a lot of confusion (and people talking past each other) on this issue with many supporters of same sex marriage conflating the two in an attempt to portray same sex marriage as the kind of inalienable right that it would be anti-American to deny (like it would be if we banned newspapers that print critical stories about our political leaders). But it's not that kind of right. Marriage is the kind of right that the legislature, in their wisdom, can fashion in any way that they rationally think is beneficial to society, just like they do with the criteria for collecting a SS check.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Carlota69

Not becasue your straight. And if youa re straight and they fire you, they have to have a valid reason. And if they dont, you can seek legal action. Gays? they dont have to have a reason, other than youre gay.

No, that's not true. In any state where "being gay" is a valid enough reason (which is to say, states that don't require a reason), being straight is also a valid enough reason.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by patteeu

No, that's not true. In any state where "being gay" is a valid enough reason (which is to say, states that don't require a reason), being straight is also a valid enough reason.

king of the disingenuous argument ... even you know that you're full of shit, but you just don't care

name one time in the history of the world where someone was fired for being straight.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

king of the disingenuous argument ... even you know that you're full of shit, but you just don't care

name one time in the history of the world where someone was fired for being straight.

Are we talking about the law here or are we talking about whether people are assholes? Because when you used the phrase "it's legal to ..." and when other people were talking about "rights", I jumped to the conclusion that we were talking about the law.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by patteeu

Are we talking about the law here or are we talking about whether people are assholes? Because when you used the phrase "it's legal to ..." and when other people were talking about "rights", I jumped to the conclusion that we were talking about the law.

more spin, more avoidance

Name one time in the history of the world were someone has been fired for being heterosexual. Other the other hand, it is legal and people have been fired for being homosexual.

you're wrong, just let it go.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

more spin, more avoidance

Name one time in the history of the world were someone has been fired for being heterosexual. Other the other hand, it is legal and people have been fired for being homosexual.

you're wrong, just let it go.

No, I don't think I'm wrong. Moving the goalposts like you're doing sounds more like spin and avoidance than what I've done.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

more spin, more avoidance

Name one time in the history of the world were someone has been fired for being heterosexual. Other the other hand, it is legal and people have been fired for being homosexual.

you're wrong, just let it go.

So you're tapping out on the "legal" part of this. Good, now we can all move on in agreement.


As to who gets fired for being gay, who got hired in the first place? If you don't like gays, you won't hire them then fire them later. Dumb point. I doubt even a handful of people have been fired in the past decade simply for being gay. Nope, no way.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by patteeu

No, I don't think I'm wrong. Moving the goalposts like you're doing sounds more like spin and avoidance than what I've done.

rush would be so proud

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

more spin, more avoidance

Name one time in the history of the world were someone has been fired for being heterosexual. Other the other hand, it is legal and people have been fired for being homosexual.

you're wrong, just let it go.

What is he avoiding? He is completely correct. If it is your contention that the odds of a person being terminated due to their heterosexuality are so small as to be negligible, I would agree. I would also say the same for being fired due to being gay. It may happen, but it's incredibly rare.

[nychief]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

So you're tapping out on the "legal" part of this. Good, now we can all move on in agreement.


As to who gets fired for being gay, who got hired in the first place? If you don't like gays, you won't hire them then fire them later. Dumb point. I doubt even a handful of people have been fired in the past decade simply for being gay. Nope, no way.

So, no such thing as discrimination toward the LGBT community... wow. Hell it is legal in 29 states, I believe.

[Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

As to who gets fired for being gay, who got hired in the first place? If you don't like gays, you won't hire them then fire them later. Dumb point.

Yes, because an employer can totally tell off a resume or an interview if someone is gay or not. I suppose they could put a blank on the application to specify if one was gay or not, and then said employer would know not to hire them. That doesn't sound like discrimination at all though.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Brooklyn

Yes, because an employer can totally tell off a resume or an interview if someone is gay or not. I suppose they could put a blank on the application to specify if one was gay or not, and then said employer would know not to hire them. That doesn't sound like discrimination at all though.

Wait a second - for your logic to work here, we have to assume (1) employee hired, (2) employee does good work, but (3) employee then discovered to be gay, fired only for that reason.


How often does that happen? 1 time per year? If that?

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

What is he avoiding? He is completely correct. If it is your contention that the odds of a person being terminated due to their heterosexuality are so small as to be negligible, I would agree. I would also say the same for being fired due to being gay. It may happen, but it's incredibly rare.

odds ... so you're playing odds on right and wrong?

so if something is a rare occurrence we don't need to worry about it?

There have been several links to examples were people have been fired for being gay and there is no know occurrence EVER of someone being fired for being straight. In fact, the idea of someone firing a person for being straight is so astoundingly absurd that has even occurred to someone to put those specific words into law.

tapping dancing with technicalities doesn't change reality

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Wait a second - for your logic to work here, we have to assume (1) employee hired, (2) employee does good work, but (3) employee then discovered to be gay, fired only for that reason.

How often does that happen? 1 time per year? If that?

so if it doesn't happen often, then it's ok?

people acting like this a debate class and just trying to win an argument instead of worrying about right/wrong. Pathetic.

[Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Wait a second - for your logic to work here, we have to assume (1) employee hired, (2) employee does good work, but (3) employee then discovered to be gay, fired only for that reason.


How often does that happen? 1 time per year? If that?

not really. You simply said that if someone doesn't like gay, don't hire them and problem solved...won't have to fire them. Your first post didn't equate for those factors, and neither did my reply. Not every gay person is obviously flaming gay.