Although his coming out in Sports Illustrated is big news, NBA star Jason Collins is not the "first openly gay athlete in professional North American team sports," as some have claimed. Claiming as much implies that either women's sports don't matter as much (or don't exist at all), or that coming out is somehow less of a big deal for professional athletes who happen to be women. Here are just a few of them:
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
The media will hype what will bring eyeballs to their ads. Period. They don't care about anything else. To pretend that there is any such thing as "news" available to the American consumer is just laughable. We got what we paid for, pure and simple.
I think there has always been a double standard. ESPN was interviewing Martina Navratilova who came out decades before and didn't get near as much attention as this guy.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
I disagree, Tebow's Christianity was a huge media selling point. They asked him about it all the time, made a big deal out of his dropping to pray on the field, etc etc.
Neither religion nor sexual orientation has anything to do with playing a sport, but it sells papers/gets hits on websites so they make a big deal out of it trying to stir up controversy. Ugh.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
I've got to agree with ScienceChic. Tebow was popular to a large degree because of his religion, so you can't claim the media didn't cover it. I'm not even a football fan and I knew Tebows religion, just as I now know Collins sexuality. Both should be personal and private, but I guess both of those words are now quaint and archaic.
It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers−out of unorthodoxy
chickaree wrote: I don't put I'm Baaack in the same category as LadyJazzer. She is worse by magnitudes. LadyJazzer is bigoted towards one group, conservatives. I'm Baaack spreads her hate into more corners than a Roomba that has run through a cow pie. Giving her a pass by calling her a "troll" and pretending she doesn't believe this filth is a mistake. We need to continually denounce such behavior. Her statements are consistent, thus prove that she really believes this disgusting stuff. Yes, ViceLord obviously plays a role to elicit a response. I think this is really who I'm Baaack is. Let's not pretend otherwise in order to make us all feel more comfortable.
You're right Chickie...no butts about it...IMHO, fudge packing is well, filthy and disgusting stuff. Oh and by the way, you assume way too much about me. I don't hate anyone, I just think fudge packing is icky.
As all the non-hetero athletes exit the seclusion of their closets and the media and Dear Leader showers them with awards, has anyone given any thought to what the trophy should look like?
