There are way too many headlines in the sports world I could choose from to write about.
Tim Tebow was released last week by the New York Jets. It’s about time. (I felt someone needed to mention this somewhere.) He was as much of a distraction as anything else in New York. New GM John Izdik is turning the franchise that has literally been the laughing stock of the league in recent years around. Starting with former West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith being drafted in the second round, he started the process of changing the Jets culture. Rex Ryan is next. But that’s for a story down the road.
The NHL Playoffs and the NBA Playoffs are underway. Congratulations. Nobody cares about the NBA Playoffs. As for the NHL, they just started, so it’s too early to tell if anything will come of them. If the league can find a way to make the 2013 playoffs as entertaining as the 2012 playoffs, then come talk to me. But for now, they have nothing. By the way, Chicago will win the Stanley Cup.
Then there’s the Stephen Strasburg story that really might not be a story. General forearm tightness had Washington Nationals fans thinking the worst had happened. Turns out, his arm was sore. Having played baseball for 15 years of my 21-year life, I know that’s generally what happens when you pitch a game, let alone throw as hard as he does. Lets be honest, if I could throw a baseball as hard a Strasburg, I probably wouldn’t be writing this right now. For the record Nationals fans, he pitched well last time out following the "scare."
Then we come to the biggest headline of the week. I’ll compare it to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball back in 1947. Twelve-year NBA veteran Jason Collins broke the barrier on another issue in becoming the first active athlete in any of the four major American team sports (NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL) to announce he is gay.
Sports Illustrated broke the story on Monday, April 29. It was only the fourth time in the publication’s history they released a story on their website before the magazine hit newsstands.
Playing 12 years in the NBA with six different teams, Collins never hinted anything about being gay. Teammates didn’t have any idea. Best friends didn’t have any idea. Not even his fiancé, whom he was set to marry in 2009 before calling off the wedding just a month beforehand, had any idea.
On April 29 at 11 a.m., Sports Illustrated broke a barrier in sports that was bound to fall at some point. Players have come out after their playing days, but nobody while they were actively in a uniform.
In watching his first public interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America Tuesday morning, I really don’t think there is anyone else that could handle this as well as Collins is. In the interview, he’s laughing and joking with Stephanopoulos and answering every question.
He has become the face of something that was bound to happen in professional sports. With all of the stress practices and games and everything else that comes with being a professional athlete, Collins took another form of stress off himself by coming out. Rightfully so, the outpour of support has been a breath of fresh air.
In my opinion, this is the best thing that could have happened to the world of sports. With the barrier broken, more closet athletes have a precedent they can follow and a group they can join. They didn’t have someone in their sport or in sports at all to talk to about being “different” from other athletes. Now, they have a support system.
However, the most important thing is not the fact they have someone to talk to. It’s the fact they can live their life without having to hide what probably is the biggest secret of their life.
Jason Collins…you have broken a barrier that was bound to fall. You have changed the world of sports forever. Not because of a big scandal sports fans have become so accustomed to in recent years, but you’ve changed the sports culture for the better. You’ve created what might be the sports story of the year and created a trend for years to come. I commend you for freeing yourself from the secrets; for opening doors for not just yourself, but for the potentially countless other athletes we as humans idolize.