Jarron Collins Pulls Off Greatest Prank in Twin History

I just don't see how this is a big deal. Some people are trying to make it into a big deal and maybe it would have been one if the guy was actually relevant anymore. Gay couples getting the same benefits as straight couples who are married would be a big deal, some random moderately famous person rapidly approaching obscurity, I'm going to say not really.

 

He's the first openly gay player on an active roster in any of the big 4 sports. If you don't see the significance of it, I don't know what to tell you. Saying that its not a big deal cause he sucks at basketball is shortsighted.

 

What is the significance of it? That a gay man is capable of playing professional sports?

Is he going to take up for the cause and let people know it's okay to be themselves even when he hid the fact that he was gay for his entire career?
How does him being a pro athlete make his message any different than some Joe Schmo who comes out to his religious family that looked down on gay lifestyle?

I know people like to attach special meaning to these announcements, but it really is laughable the way we celebrate "courage".

 

If you don't know what to tell me it's probably because there isn't anything significant about it. It isn't like dimorphism exists between people of different sexualities, there is no reason physically why he couldn't do it. He didn't have to overcome adversity or discrimination because of his sexuality considering he was in the closet until he was about to retire. What exactly is the significance of this one guy doing what thousands of other people (including who knows how many other closeted homosexuals) have done before him?

This guy was openly gay to his team and team owners, so all that aside he missed the mark by almost 40 years.

 

It's significant because he was the first. He doesn't have to be great for it to mean something. He is still in the locker room and part of the team just like Kevin Durant and Lebron James. He still is as much a part of an NBA team as any other player. Him finally being able to come out is a huge deal. There is a reason no active player has come out until him, because clearly gay athletes do not feel comfortable being open about their lives yet. And until someone made that first step, others would always be afraid of being 100% who they are. The fact of the matter is homophobia exists in professional sports, and when a player is brought up from adolescence in a team environment, coming out and risking ostracizing oneself from that team and having your friends and brothers suddenly turn on you is something that takes a lot of courage (no need for quotes here).

It's significant because anytime a gay person comes out to their family, friends, and teammates, it is a big deal, not just for that person or that family, but for everyone because it means we are getting that much closer where it simply isn't a big deal. It's an even bigger deal because there are probably some gay teens who are having a really difficult time being comfortable with who they are and want to be open about it but can't. They see an active professional athlete coming out to other jocks, and they might think its now something they can do. Because I'm sure they are worried about what the jocks will do to them if they come out in their school. I think its sad that you don't see coming out as a courageous act.

 

Hey, hey now...Calgary, Alberta elected a gay, brown guy as mayor. No need to lump us in with backward fucktards from Alabama and Mississippi.

 

The same reason they bring Mississippi into it?

 

See this is the point though, he didn't do that. He didn't come out in high school. He didn't make it in the league as a gay man. He wasn't accepted by his fellow teammates as a gay man. He lied about his sexuality to fit in. Basically his message was, "I was gay but I wasn't comfortable telling anyone because of the backlash I thought I would face. Now that I don't have to worry about basketball anymore, because my career is over, I'm going to fly my gay flag proudly."

That's not a courageous message.

 

Oh, come the fuck on, people.

He's not Jackie Robinson. Nobody's arguing that. And this isn't as big of a deal as it would be if he were in the prime of his career, or if he was a better player. We all know.

But he's the first person to do what he's doing. Nobody else was willing to do it, superstar or not. Not a single other man, prime or washed up, was willing to come out of the closet in one of the biggest sports in our country. He might not have blazed a wide trail, but he started putting up signposts, and he should be commended. I think that deserves at least a thread on some dumb messageboard.

Like, for really though, we have a fucking thread asking what clothes people are wearing. This has to be more important than that, right?

 

Hicks.

 

This.
I know exactly zero about basketball - loathe the sport - but good on him for being man enough to live with authenticity.

 

Here's my thought. Everyone thought this would be a big deal. The first male athlete to come out while still an active player. Many wanted it to be a big deal, start a debate, and "change" perceptions. Would it be a bigger thing if it were a top tier athlete? I don't know, but its not and now people are pissed, or at least commenting "how can this not be a bigger deal?".

The fact is that many (I'll go out on a limb and say most) people simply don't care anymore. Some people are gay, we know this. Is it possible we're starting to move past, oh god there are gay people, gasp, and on to meh, I have my own problems.

The only thing I get tired of is the media and others trying to put it in our faces, THESE PEOPLE SHOULD BE A PROTECTED CLASS!!!! No, they're people just like the rest of us and we all have problems.

 

Just because you are progressive and accepting of all 'alternative' lifestyles and find homosexuality as out of the ordinary as waking up to bird shit on your windshield doesn't make it any less stigmatized by the majority of the general public. Yes, it has been an issue in the national conscience, and yes homosexuality is increasingly accepted and even marriage is becoming legalized, but in the hyper-masculine (read: straight) world of male sports, this is groundbreaking. Not that this is world news or anything close to that level, but the act opens the door for further acceptance in an area where there hasn't been much in the past.

Great, great thread title by the way.

 

Pot meet kettle...

 

To me it's a bigger deal that it's not a big deal. The fact that very few people give a crap speaks volumes about acceptance and tolerance to me. We're not quite there, but if SportsCenter leads off with "Today's top story: Tiger Woods wore a blue shirt during his practice round." Who cares? It's so common place, it's not news, nobody treats him differently, it's not courageous. Isn't it good news if somebody says that they're gay and nobody cares? Doesn't that mean it's about as newsworthy as wearing a blue shirt? They're not going to do an Outside the Lines report on Tim Duncan being heterosexual. So, isn't society pushing us to react that it's just as boring to find out that Jared Collins is gay?