by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist
While I freely admit that I am not a close follower of the sports scene in America, I am an ardent admirer of courage and moral fortitude, qualities that obviously abound in professional basketball player Jason Collins. This week young Mr. Collins (aged 34, young by my standards), a former standout basketball player for Stanford University and current center for the Washington Wizards, wrote an article for Sports Illustrated magazine in which he revealed that he is gay. Collins, in fact, became the first male athlete in any of America's four main professional sports leagues to come out as gay while still playing.
Jason Collins, by coming out, clearly made a risky and potentially costly move. However, the reaction by teammates, team management, news hounds, and the general public has been overwhelmingly positive - with the seemingly lone exception being ESPN basketball analyst Chris Broussard who questioned Collin's ability to both live an openly gay lifestyle and be a Christian. The Clinton family (yes, those Clintons), longtime friends of the athlete, immediately stepped forward to offer their support, and yesterday the leader of the free world, President Barack Obama, telephoned Collins to offer his congratulations on the young man's brave decision that will pave the path out of the closet for others.
The world is quickly changing for the better thanks in no small measure to people like Jason Collins. He is truly of role model of whom we all can be proud!
Citizen Journalist
While I freely admit that I am not a close follower of the sports scene in America, I am an ardent admirer of courage and moral fortitude, qualities that obviously abound in professional basketball player Jason Collins. This week young Mr. Collins (aged 34, young by my standards), a former standout basketball player for Stanford University and current center for the Washington Wizards, wrote an article for Sports Illustrated magazine in which he revealed that he is gay. Collins, in fact, became the first male athlete in any of America's four main professional sports leagues to come out as gay while still playing.
Jason Collins, by coming out, clearly made a risky and potentially costly move. However, the reaction by teammates, team management, news hounds, and the general public has been overwhelmingly positive - with the seemingly lone exception being ESPN basketball analyst Chris Broussard who questioned Collin's ability to both live an openly gay lifestyle and be a Christian. The Clinton family (yes, those Clintons), longtime friends of the athlete, immediately stepped forward to offer their support, and yesterday the leader of the free world, President Barack Obama, telephoned Collins to offer his congratulations on the young man's brave decision that will pave the path out of the closet for others.
The world is quickly changing for the better thanks in no small measure to people like Jason Collins. He is truly of role model of whom we all can be proud!
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