Tuesday, April 30, 2013

My Obligatory Someone (Sort of) Famous is Gay Post


Jason Collins, NBA player, has come out of the closet and announced to the world that he is gay.  My first reaction was yeah so.  It is not like people were under the impression that there has never been a gay athlete before.    It really isn't like he is even the first to "come out".  Martina Navratilova has been out of the closet for years and years, although she was outed by Billie Jean King who is also gay.  The sport of Ice Skating has many openly gay men.  The Olympic diver Greg Louganis has written a book about his life, including being in a gay abusive relationship and having the AIDS virus.  So why exactly this is such a big deal is beyond me.

The oddest thing about all of this to me is that I am a HUGE NBA fan and I don't know this guy from a hole in the wall.  The NBA playoffs are still in the first round at the moment (Go Knicks!!!!) so this was the talk during the pre, post, and half time shows.  It seems that most players are coming out as supportive.  But I wouldn't expect anything else.  What other choice do they have?

If they come out publicly against it they will be labeled a hater and a homophobe.  You see having views that homosexuality is wrong is bad.  It is intolerant.  You are a bigot.  You are a hater.  But I am sorry, there is no one in the world that can convince me that a person who may be uncomfortable in a dressing room where you are showering and dressing together makes you a homophobe.  No one would say a word if there were of opposite sexes.  That would be considered perfectly fine.  Why exactly are women and men uncomfortable showering and getting naked in front of each other in that type of setting?  SEX, that is why.  We cannot deny human sexuality and attraction exists simply so we can be open-minded and tolerant about homosexuality.  I would not be comfortable being in that type of environment in front of an openly gay woman any more than I would be in front of a man.  There is nothing wrong with that.

But no NBA player will be able to say this openly.  Not if they know what is good for them.

Ah yes, it is all about the tolerance.  Just ask Tim Tebow.  Openly Christian NFL Player.

1 comment:

net observer said...

But just,

There are also many, many, MANY openly Christian professional athletes -- LONG before Tebow. David Robinson and A.C. Green come to mind.

They weren't targeted like Tebow has been. Why is that?

I must also hasten to add that "coming out of the closet" in one of the four major American sports while you're still active IN that sport is a FAR bigger deal than what Martina or Louganis did. With all due respect, that's just too much of an apples and oranges comparison.

The pertinent question is "Why Tim Tebow?", not "Why Christians?" I say that because Christians in general (in modern-day America) have NOT been targeted like Tim Tebow. So why is that?

Well, my take: Tebow's haters don't hate Tebow. They hate the talking heads that use him -- CONSTANTLY -- as some kind of symbol/martyr for their political movement. After the 1000th time, it starts to get a skosh irritating, especially when we all know that Tim Tebow isn't all that special.

I suspect there are some who will predictably declare that David Robinson and A.C. Green got a pass because they're black, but that's also ridiculous as far as I'm concerned.

Case in point: I'm a HUGE fan of March Madness. At the end of every game this past season (or so it seemed), a young victorious player would immediately make a strong and obviously genuine Christian reference in his post-game interview. Black players, white players, it didn't matter.

Aaron Craft (Ohio State point guard and white guy) prayed in the middle of the court before EVERY game and he got along just fine.

So what makes Tebow different? Besides the fact he's been virtually fetishized by a political movement, he is also more demonstrative when he worships. So yeah, it makes him stand out. Not as a Christian, but as a particularly demonstrative Christian.

He gets TEASED for that -- not hated. There's a difference.

Whenever people behave unusually in public, they get teased for it. Heck, even Michael Jordan got teased for the way stuck out his TONGUE when he'd make a strong move on the court.

Trust me, if this Jason Collins guy does an interview looking like and sounding like RuPaul, he will catch FAR more hell than Tebow EVER did.

When will we see the first ATHEIST athlete "come out"? That's a more interesting question if you ask me.

Of course I won't hold my breath.

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