Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Jason Collins Gives First Television Interview Since Coming Out

I wanted to not rush out something yesterday when the news first broke that Jason Collins came out as gay. Jason is the first openly gay athlete currently playing in a major American team sport and yesterday on ABC he called that mind boggling. He said he would like some company in the coming out department, but that if necessary he can go it alone. Collins, who currently plays for the Washington Wizards wears #98 in honor of Matthew Shepard who was a victim of a gay hate crime back in 1998. I wonder if Collins is the tallest gay person ever. I mean there are not many people over 7 feet tall in the world. I'm sure there must be a certain percentage of them that are gay, but he has to be right up there with the tallest.

84 comments:

All about Eve said...

So proud of him! He has a fan for life over here

Pogue Mahone said...

I think people's sex life is their own private business. Why do they feel the need to announce it to the world? It's no one else's business.

Anonymous said...

I GET the significance of his announcement.

BUT.....

I'm kinda over being pulled into people's bedrooms. "Im a virgin/gay". You can keep your door closed. I really don't need to know what goes down on the other side.

Sheesh....

libby said...

Being gay is more than just the way you have sex.

Anonymous said...

Here we go in here. . .

libby said...

You know, when I see a married m/f (hetero) couple with kids, all i can think is SHEESH!!! Why do they have to parade their SEX LIFE all over the place?! We get it, you had sex and there's the result.
GAG me.

And then they dress up their 'sex product' all cute and stuff too. GROSS.

Cathy said...

I'm guessing that he "felt the need to announce it to the world" because if it made just one teen who was contemplating suicide or the victim of bullying feel like they were less alone, then it was worth it. By coming out as a gay male athlete, he's shattering stereotypes and telling the world that gay men can be just as "manly" as straight men.

I think what he did was amazing and brave.

MrsAmiss said...

I love that he came out. It's not that he's inviting you into his bedroom, but he should be able to bring his partner to events without it being a big deal. I'm a conservative with a proud lesbian sister and she was happy that this happened as was I. One day it won't be a big deal and I look forward to that day.

SKOR said...

You cannot compare coming out as gay to coming out as heterosexual. There is no stigma or hostility to heterosexuality. If he publicly announced he was Islam, people wouldn't attack him for it.
I fail to see how disclosing his sexual orientation to the media is TMI.

mikey said...

Kudos to him for not hiding and just going with what he is. We all know there have been gay athletes but they have remain hidden until retirement, or forever.

The reason it's important that he came out is because it cuts down on the whispers of is he or isn't he.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, lifestyle. I get it. I am more proud of the people who don't say anything, but just LIVE.

Rafi said...

Um so do gay people wear different clothes or eat different foods or go to different colleges? The only difference between gay and straight people is the sex. Nothing more or less, that's why it shouldn't be a big deal.

Rafi said...

Here here. I wish he would of just bought his boyfriend to a game and kissed him in front of everyone. Then he could of tweeted "No coming out the closet for me, I was never in". Now that would if been a newsworthy story. Either way I'm still super proud if him!

Anonymous said...

@Rafi.....that was my point. I guess my post was badly worded. SHRUG....

luckylass said...

While it is no big deal to many of us here, it is to many others. Many People still hate gay people. Often when they actually know someone who is gay and put a face to it, they may change they opinion. I can't wait until it isn't a big deal for everyone. But we are not there yet. But I think we are getting closer.

Kudos to this guy and I hope he will not be alone for long.

Unknown said...

I thought the Matthew Shepard murder was determined to be a drug deal issue and not a gay thing?


I'm glad people are comfortable enough to come out now, but hopefully it'll soon be a non-issue. As long as everyone involved is a consenting adult, I could give a rat's ass who they sleep with.

auntliddy said...

Yet to many it is a big deal

Anonymous said...

It shouldn't be a deal at all, big or small. But it is and we all know it.

Telling folks to just LIVE!!!! is short-sighted, IMO. We all know it's not that simple. And the guy didn't invite any of us to watch him and his SO get down.

Who any of us have sex with is no one's business. But we gossip about which celeb is f*cking and s*cking who all the time.

All of us are big MF hypocrites on this topic, no matter how we look at it. Because if it just about LIVE YOUR LIFE, then why are we responding to it, on a gossip blog of all places?

Why is sex a major topic for adults who claim to be smart?

Because at the end, we're really f*cking stupid and petty and gossips.

Colleen said...

Is this the answer to the blind item from a few weeks ago?

8====D KermitGossnellKnobjob said...

I don't really care about his sexuality, but I understand anyone who doesn't want homos in professional (team) sports, and I explain this now.

SHOWERS. He has to share showers (in team sports, if a snooker/tennis/chess... player wants to out himself, there is no big business in it) with a lot of potential sexdreams and, as long as there are separated showers and restrooms for men and women and nobody (outside from Islamic societies) hates women because of this, gay people should have their own dressing rooms and showers.

Whenever I can have showers surrounded by women (I am a male) or pee in their public toilets, gay men/women can share their showers/restrooms/whatever with non-gay people. Until then, we are different and must have separated showers and dressing rooms.

Cathy said...

...Wow. Just wow. He's still the exact same person he has been, who has been sharing the showers without incident for the past thirteen seasons.

luckylass said...

I share showers all the time at the gym. I am straight, but the people I shower with do not wear a big sign saying "I am gay"' "I am sexually ambitious", "I am straight, but like to watch gay porn". That is life. If people want to look at your body and you are naked, they will. If I or anyone else cared about gays or straights looking at you naked, don't shower with other people.

Anonymous said...

@LAYNA.I did not. Tell people to just live. I am proud of gays who take that approach. My initial post started with a disclaimer that u ignore whilst attacking the rest of it. I UNDERSTAND WHY HE HAD TO MAKE THE ANNOUNCEMENT!

lisa said...

Good on Jason, but let's hear it for the women who led the way! http://dorothysurrenders.blogspot.com/2013/04/level-playing-field.html

Miss Reynolds said...

That's great and all but from another interview it makes perfect cents why this mediocre basketball player came out now:

"He'll definitely be a hot commodity," said David Lavin, founder of the Lavin Agency Speakers Bureau. "Automatically."
"My recommendation would be that he should have two-tiered fees: one for college groups and one for corporate groups," said Lavin. "There are a lot of organizations that find this issue important." Collins, he estimated, could command between $10,000 and $50,000 per appearance.
"10k an hour adds up," he added. "It's not as good as playing in the NBA, but it's not bad."

PM said...

well... good morning, bigot.

H said...

Wtf?

Cathy said...

Seriously, Miss Reynold's??? Just because some person who doesn't know him personally says that he could make money off of this, you assume that's why he came out?

Anonymous said...

I am more proud of the people who don't say anything, but just LIVE.

Yeah, I just really misunderstood your point, fancy.

If you have start your point with a disclaimer, you're doing something wrong. Not just you--that's me or anyone else.

And I didn't attack squat. Didn't know I had to share your two cents on the topic.

Anonymous said...

KUDOS to all the gays that dont feel pressure to explain/confirm their orientation to straights.

@Layna...why are you being all "WEIRD" this morning?

Count Jerkula said...

Couldn't that Bachmann woman pray it away for him?

Yo Mismo: You should be flattered when a gay eyeballs you in the shower. Once you open yer pie hole, no one will find you attractive.

Anonymous said...

Layna a disclaimer is for stupid fucks like you who read more into a comment than is necessary. If you dont understand where i was going with the bedroom comment than u r not very swift.

Finish NOT enjoying your day.

Cathy said...

fancy - if you're going to call people "stupid fucks" for disagreeing with your poorly worded post, then i suggest you go get a cup of coffee or something to cool off.

libby said...

fancy, I really thought you were better than that.

Anonymous said...

I'm a stupid fuck. Fancy SAID so. Must be true.

*sarcasm*

MadLyb said...

@Devon Barnett - that is according to a 20/20 story from 2004, which many agree to have been poor journalism. But people like Virginia Foxx and others who don't want hate crimes legislation passed (and who hate gays) still cling to it.

MadLyb said...

@YoMismo-RememberKermitGosnell - GTFO, LOL. The last time I heard a guy use the word, "homos" was a couple weeks before he drunkenly begged my gay friend to, well...let's just say he obliged. A lot of homophobes are terrified little hypocrites insecure in their own manhood and sexuality. For some reason, I doubt you'd attract "teh gays". Many gay men are quite particular.

Anonymous said...

@cathy....actually my post was worded just fine. Im sure people with good reading comprehension understood that I am not against the gays that ACTUALLY WANT TO COME OUT. I said it was worded poorly to give Layna her "win" for the day, cause obviously she needs it.

(((Fancy looks down at t-shirt to make sure she doesnt have on her FAGS BURN IN HELL tee)))

^^^dark humor^^^

some of u will understand it.....

Unknown said...

@Count +1

Cathy said...

yes, the way to get people to agree with you is to say that anyone who doesn't must have reading comprehension issues. good call on that. seriously, go somewhere to calm down instead of doing more damage.

All about Eve said...

OMG...

All about Eve said...

@Count, buuuuurn!! Lmao!

Kaltes Klares Wasser said...

...well being gay includes who you want to spend your life with, much bigger deal than sex, and as long as people have to hide their preference because they have to fear for their career and social acceptance I applause those in the public that come out and help others to live their life the way they want to.

Anonymous said...

I didn't say you thought gays should burn. Talk about projection. Coupled with poorly post and your casual 'fucker' attitude, I hope all good things happen to you. You need that, and a hug.

I don't need a thing from someone I can't see. I'm sure you feel the same, yes?

But to suggest that someone should just LIVE is short-sighted. I stand by that. Would you tell a black person to just live? A young woman living in a country that doesn't give females access to education? An elderly person to put up with be forgotten by those who claim to love them?

Who are you, me, or anyone else to tell someone to just LIVE? It's not our life to live. Everyone has to get through this cosmos the best way we know how, so if announcing one's sexuality is what works for Jason, good for me. It's not for me to understand.

You don't want me to assume stuff about you, but you have no hesitation to do the same to me. And you did the same to Jason. And then cussed at me on top of it.

When you're ready to have a civil conversation, look me up. Until then, I'm just your friendly neighborhood fucker, who hasn't actually fucked you.

Anonymous said...

@ cathy....you dont have to agree. i dont care. just dont twist posts to mean what you (not YOU) want them to just so u can go on a tirade. The damage came from a couple of posters who want to TAKE ON an innocent post with unnecessary kuntiness.

DAMAGE?....Really? I see no damage.

Anonymous said...

Here we go with the "black" angle....

As a black person, YES, I just LIVE. Its not my job to explain my blackness to others. Its not 1850.

Pulling the black card is just a way to get black people to quiet down about their strong opinions on a topic. TYPICAL.

Anonymous said...

Boy, are you fishing today, fancy. Just ignore the young woman and elderly person analogies I posted along with the black angle.

Be loud, be proud, call me a fucker kunt. Do you. No one else would want to.

Anonymous said...

I NEVER TOLD PEOPLE TO JUST LIVE. I APPRECIATE the gays who just live their lives without announcements...JEEEEZ.

How do you know that a great number of them dont NEED/WANT to do the whole announcement thing?

Arent people ALLOWED to not discuss their life?

Tom Cruise if routinely mocked for being a bearding closeted gay. WE ARE NOT EVEN SURE HES GAAAAY! Why should he feel pressure to come out? isnt he allowed his private life? NO? Because if other gays come out HE SHOULD?

Doesnt sexual orientation determine of you are GAY OR NOT? Am I missing something? My comment on the bedroom is because THAT would b the only way to know, unless some of you can determine it another way that I am not aware of?

Anonymous said...

People are allowed to live their life however they choose.

Appreciate everyone's life and whatever journey this world takes them on.

Cathy said...

The damage I was referring to was the damage you're doing to other peoples' views of you and their respect for you. As libby, pointed out, most of us thought you were better than calling other posters here "stupid fucks."

Rosemary Young said...

For a quick second I read the name as "Joan Collins" and thought, "Alexis Carrington is gay?!"

mooshki said...

Jeez, this is like the people who say "I don't see race." Well, goody for you, but some people don't have that luxury. If there wasn't bigotry he wouldn't have to talk about his sexual orientation, but there is, and what he did was heroic.

As for it being just about sex, is it sexual when an athlete introduces his girlfriend to his teammates? Collins is paving the way for future athletes to say "hey, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend." (Referring to the "big four" sports - there are plenty of out athletes in other sports.)

Anonymous said...

@cathy.....I thought we as a collective posting group were over snide commments on other peoples opinions. If you disagree disagree like a big girl. This is all about the discussion....RIGHT?

Grown women shouldnt make passive aggressive comments, ie. "throw shade". Cant snide/sideways comments be met with an equal amount of childishness?

Cathy said...

I'm sorry, but what?? You totally lost me...

Anonymous said...

Uhhh...

Nevermind.

:^)

Staple611 said...

Hmmm, I have never heard anything about Matthew Sheppard's death being drug related - anyone else?

I hadn't heard that that's why he wears 98. That is really quite touching to me.

GossipFan said...

For the debate about whether or not he should have made a formal announcement, or just lived his life and let the press/public discover the truth, I'll pull out this quote from Jason in the original Sports Illustrated article:

"My coming out is preemptive. I shouldn't have to live under the threat of being outed. The announcement should be mine to make, not TMZ's."

It's not exactly the same, but the truth is, this way he gets to start the discussion, and in a way control the tone of the discussion. If he let someone take his picture kissing his boyfriend at a game, for example, even if he knew the "consequences" his first statement about the matter (because there would be a statement, don't kid yourself) would be a reaction to the press asking him about it.

As a semi-closeted bisexual from a very conservative family, I wish it was as easy as living your life openly and no one caring, but unfortunately we're not there yet. Right now, I simply LOVE that Jason is out there (literally) on the cover of Sports Illustrated, because I'm sure there are teenage boys (and girls) with a subsciption to that magazine (and adult boys and girls too) who will one day tell people that it was seeing that magazine that gave them the courage to come out to their family/friends.

Sandy said...

People seem to be ignoring how homophobia has been virtually institutionalized in American professional sports, especially male professional sports. Of course Collins had to come out in public - the point was to demonstrate that one can be gay and be professional and play exactly like every other player in professional sports.

Obviously some people still believe that gay and lesbian people are ravening monsters who don't have the willpower to keep their hands to themselves in showers (patently ridiculous) and will attempt to "turn straight people gay." Jesus Christ, what year is this? 1913?

For the record: gay people know better than to hit on straight people. No one "turns gay." You're born that way, the same as you're born with brown eyes, or blond hair, or big bones, or with the capacity to be tall enough to be an NBA player. You don't choose it, and anyone who thinks so might as well be living in the Dark Ages.

I'm glad people like Collins are trying to fight the ignorance of and prejudice against homosexuality, which appears to be alive and well in this country.

Robin the Mad Photographer said...

@Count: I was going to say something similar but not quite as snarky, but you beat me to it! Somehow I don't see every gay man lusting after every single man he sees any more than straight guys want every single woman they see; "gay" does not equal "sexually indiscriminate" in the real world. Also, there's that whole "don't shit where you eat" business, e.g., "don't sleep with your co-workers, because if/when it goes south, things can get really ugly."

(What I, as a woman and a feminist, find interesting is the way homophobes start freaking out at the idea that gay men just might be checking them out--what scares them is that they're terrified that they might be treated in and regarded the same way that they've always treated women, because, of course, being a woman is clearly the Worst Thing Ever, and women are seen as inferior to men. It's similar in some ways to Jon Hamm getting huffy over people joking about the Hammaconda--well, dude, now you know how actresses, including some of your co-stars, feel when people talk about their bodies; the difference is that you can wear underwear to keep that rascal in check, but women get talked about even if they're wearing a burqua. The Golden Rule, kids--learn it, live it, love it...)

marie-ski said...

+1 love it!

marie-ski said...

Thank you! Ws abut to post the same thing,but it would'nt yave cme out so eloquently.

Hazeldazel said...

Yeah I love how people say "gay people should just live" which totally ignores how much oppression and violence still occurs every day especially to young people, and which totally sounds like "gay people should know their place and stop being so uppity." Yes because the black community and the sports world (in general) are sooooooooo supportive and forward-thinking to the gay community, and that's why there's such thing as being on the "down low" and high risk of suicide from gay teens and why in sports teams the big insult is to call people "gay". Yeah. And in 2013, we have 1 "out" person, and we're just gonna pretend like no one else is gay. There's a reason everyone else has been firmly in closet and that is sad. To just say, people should just live and it's nobody's business, is naive at best but really, you're just perpetuating the problem. It's walking around with your hands on your ears going "lalalalalalal I don't wanna hear it about prejudice I just want to pretend everything's okie-dokie!"

No more suicides, no more homeless kids, no more people not getting to be who they are. People deserve to be happy and fulfilled. Maybe then we'd have less nightmare blinds and this website would be about bacon recipe and cat videos. :)

Sherry said...

Rosemary Young: I thought the same thing.

It's a very personal decision to come out publicy or live life quietly but not hide. He felt the need and I applaud him.

And everyone play nicely please. Life is too short to bicker bicker bicker.

Count Jerkula said...

I could care less about a dude hitting on me. I'd love the chance to smoke all a dude's weed and drink all his beer, then not put out, like all them chicks did to me, in my youth.

I tried it with an older broad once. I was about 22 and let her (45-55) take me home from the bar to smoke some hash she supposedly had. It went south quick.

Apparently her similarly aged, angry girlfriend (I didn't know at the time) lived in the first floor apartment and followed us up the steps. The GF pushed her way through the door and quickly grabbed the hash woman by the shirt.

"What did I tell you about bringing guys here!" was what Ms. Angry yelled as she slammed the old stoner broad up against the wall.

Stunned, drunk and high, I stood there in awe, watching a couple minutes of yelling, pushing and jostling. I finally snapped to and said, "If its gonna get crazy, then I gotta get outta here."

Ms Angry turned to me and said, "You better get eh fuck outta here, this is my girlfriend!" I started scrambling to get out, before she tried to swing on me or something.

Once I got the door open, I put one hand on the bannister, one on the wall and skipped down the staircase 3-4 steps at a time. I hit the landing and just used my momentum to splinter the front door with my shoulder and get the hell outta there.

I have never returned to Binghamton, NY, nor do I plan to.

lazyday603 said...

If you freak out at the idea of showering with a gay guy that's really your own problem, not the gay guy's. That's why they have the word phobia in homophobia. Get over it. They're here and they're queer.

Nyan said...

Very proud of him for coming out...but I wish, wish, WISH we lived in a world where people were more tolerant and evolved so that no one ever again felt the need to "come out".

feraltart said...

It will be lovely when a person's sexuality isn't an issue, but at the moment & for the foreseeable future unfortunately it is. Bravo to all those in the public eye who stand up to be counted. It takes people doing this to turn the tide of some people's opinion. Drops of rain make an ocean, it all contributes.

correy said...

Good for him. From what I've been reading, he is on the downside of his career & this is a way to extend it.Now the pressure is on a team to employ him. If the Washington Wizards dump him for a better prospect, they will face criticism of homophobia,& other teams might get that same taint if they do the same. Not a big NBA fan, but talk is that he wasn't a good player, a notch above a bench rider. I don't think it's as big a deal as if Clay Matthews (NFL) were to come out. It's good for him like another poster said because of the speaking opportunities but he didn't/doesn't have much left to offer as a player. Now if Kevin Durant or Blake Griffin came out, this would be huge because they're in their prime & have a huge following in the league.

correy said...

I did too Rosemary.

Brian Brown said...

Pogue Mahone said...
I think people's sex life is their own private business. Why do they feel the need to announce it to the world?


Because you have celebrate this! And, you have to think Collins is completely normal and brave.

If you don't, you're a H8-er wingnutz bigot!!!

Brian Brown said...

libby said...
Being gay is more than just the way you have sex.


No, no it is not.

The entirety of being homosexual is your sexual behavior.

Brian Brown said...

For the record: gay people know better than to hit on straight people. No one "turns gay." You're born that way

Who types something so fucking dumb, especially on this blog?

Gay people hit on straight people all the time, moron.

There are blinds on this very blog about gay producers making up & coming actors sleep with them.

And no, you are not born gay.

Stop with the absurdities.

Unknown said...

I am speechless.

Unknown said...

@Count, love it! LOL!

Brian Brown said...

I wish, wish, WISH we lived in a world where people were more tolerant and evolved so that no one ever again felt the need to "come out".

I'm not clear why he needed to come out.

Half the country doesn't care.

90% of the people praising his "courage" had never heard of him and are using him as a political prop.

If you think someone who has made $32 million in the last 12 years announcing their sexual habit to an adoring media, has "courage" you have no sense of proportion.

Anonymous said...

@hazel...u are WAY off base! SMH at u.

Anonymous said...

So I suppose Joe Simpson wasn't on the down low because, u know, only closeted black guys are right, Hazel?

FlirtyChick74 said...

@YoMismo: Really? I wasn't even going to respond but sadly this is the second time in the past few hours that I've heard the same comment made. I will never understand why hetro people automatically think every gay or lesbian wants them no matter how fucked up they are in the looks department. Collins said he was gay not desperate!!

jp said...

Jay said...

Because being queer is immoral, abnormal, and unhealthy.

On top of the fact that queers are 2% of the population and there are a hell of a lot of people who don't like being around them.

So what he said was entirely appropriate.

Nyan said...

@ Jay I wish the whole world didn't care, not just half the country!! People should be allowed to live and love as they please without being persecuted by bigots! NO8!!!

Gabby said...

I'm so proud of him. Being a professional athlete and being black, he is a part of 2 communities that typically are not the keenest on being openly gay. Thank goodness for Jason!

Crystal said...

I mean...is this a real comment ?! Yikes

Crystal said...

I mean...is this a real comment ?! Yikes

figgy said...

@Count Jerkula, that is a hilarious story!! :-P

I'm just going to hum and ignore all the nasty ad hominem attacks going around, cuz I really hate those.

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