Jason Colls on why there hasn’t been another openly gay NBA player - Outsports

Contents:

• HERE ARE THE 6 GAY MEN WHO HAVE BEEN OUT PUBLICLY WHILE PETG PRO BASKETBALL
• JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY
• THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY
• BILL KENNEDY OUT AS SEND ACTIVE OPENLY GAY NBA OFFICIAL
• TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY
• THE LIST OF GAY BASKETBALL PLAYERS NTU TO GROW WH ANOTHER G OUT
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• THE NBA HAS AN OPENLY GAY PLAYER: WHAT CHANG?
• DENNIS RODMAN SAYS HE THKS 10-20% OF PRO ATHLET ARE GAY AND THAT THE NBA IS READY FOR AN OUT ATHLETE
• A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS
• JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY
• FORMER NBA, KENTUCKY PLAYER ISAAC HUMPHRI OUT AS ONLY ACTIVE GAY PLAYER TOP-TIER MEN'S BASKETBALL

HERE ARE THE 6 GAY MEN WHO HAVE BEEN OUT PUBLICLY WHILE PETG PRO BASKETBALL

When John Amaechi me out publicly 2007, he was ahead of his time, sharg that he’s gay and a former profsnal basketball player. Sce Colls showed the world you uld be a gay man profsnal basketball, there has been a trickle of gay athlet to follow, most recently former NBA player and current Atralian pro basketball player Isaac Humphri. On Febary 23, 2014, Brooklyn Nets center Jason Colls be the first openly gay athlete to play a game the Uned Stat’ four major profsnal leagu.

The 35-year-old journeyman plays 10 srels mut, rerdg two rebounds and five fouls the Nets’ 108-102 victory over the Los Angel May 2013, Colls revealed he is gay a first-person say  Sports Illtrated.

JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY

The LGBT movement emerged as early as the 1870s, but homosexual rights groups didn't appear until after World War II September 1945. Homophobia is somethg that shouldn't have a place sports bee LGBT folks n be fans, media members, employe and executiv too. " We, as a untry, need to une and not jt bee of the tragic gay nightclub shootg Orlando, Florida, that occurred last summer.

His fay reportedly had mixed emotns towards the announcement, but he still changed the game, beg the first Divisn I men's basketball player to e out as gay and play gam. He also received praise om Colls and former NFL fensive end Michael Sam, who beme the first openly gay football player. When then-Phoenix Suns print and CEO Rick Welts me out as gay May 2011, former NBA pot guard Steve Nash pledged his support favor of the LGBT muny.

Nash said the vio, "A growg number of profsnal athlet are speakg out support of gay and lbian upl gettg married, I'm proud to be one of them. Asi om his open support for gay rights, he also ns the Steve Nash Foundatn, which helps children who are affected by poverty, illns, abe or neglect, and creat opportuny for tn, play, and empowerment, Phoenix, Arizona, and Brish Columbia, Canada.

THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY

In his hman year at Villanova, he first me out as gay to his teammate and roommate Mike Villa before nfsg to his parents three months later. Last year, the NBA moved s 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carola, due to the state's law that lims anti-discrimatn protectns for lbian, gay and transgenr people.

Jason CollsCareerComg OutJon AmaechiCareer Comg Out Isaac HumphriCareerComg OutAre There Closeted Gay NBA Players? One ESPN mentator, Chris Brosard, exprsed both his admiratn for Colls’ bravery and his belief that Colls uld not be both gay and christian.

BILL KENNEDY OUT AS SEND ACTIVE OPENLY GAY NBA OFFICIAL

Tennis great Marta Navratilova, who had somewhat unbelievably e out 1981, praised Colls and exprsed her hope that this would help end homophobia team sports and lead to more players g out. The difference reactn between Ameachi’s and Colls’ statements is a sign of the growth acceptance of gay people between 2007 and 2013.

Lebron Jam said “Wh teammat you have to be tstworthy, and if you’re gay and you’re not admtg that you are, then you are not tstworthy”. He actually went to unselg and beme the 1st person to sign his name to a 2013 petn to legalize gay marriage Florida. While the percentage of people who are gay vari wh different measur, there is no reputable measure sayg the number is zero.

Jason Colls me out 2013 and went on to play the next season beg the first and only openly gay active player NBA history. When Jason Colls revealed he was gay seven years ago, was a historic announcement that seemgly shifted the nversatn about homophobia profsnal male team sports.

TOP 10 ATHLET WHO ARE RUMORED TO BE GAY

There is not an active openly gay player the NBA or any of the other Amerin major male profsnal leagu: the NFL, MLB and NHL. While Colls regniz there is still a lot of work to be done, he says ’s helpful to be able to pot to the lany of star openly gay profsnal athlet, om Megan Rapoe to Robbie Rodgers. Mayor Pete Buttigieg recently beme the first openly gay ndidate Amerin history to earn printial primary legat toward a major party’s nomatn procs.

If an openly gay printial ndidate n thrive the rough world of polics — even garnerg support om some nservative Republins agast homophobic sults — then seems like only a matter of time before another NBA player out. So when two gay men — Drew Tagliabue wh PFLAG and Ken Mehlman wh GLSEN — approached her about embracg the LGBTQ muny, Behrens was all ears.

THE LIST OF GAY BASKETBALL PLAYERS NTU TO GROW WH ANOTHER G OUT

It was an ia prented by GLSEN — a PSA about stampg out the pejorative term “that’s so gay” — that piqued her tert. So 2011 the NBA fund and shot a PSA wh Grant Hill and Jared Dudley talkg about the need to elimate “sually homophobic” language om sports and society.

As Welts built a Hall of Fame reer the NBA ont office, as well as wh the Suns and Goln State Warrrs, his secret — he was gay wh a boyiend — stuck wh him. Those NBA teams brought attus about gays and lbians that were at tim fearful their prence the WNBA might sre away non-LGBTQ fans.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

Shortly after, Lippard and Welts — who had heard about each other whispers about gay men the league — fed a iendship, and Welts beme an important mentor for Lippard. “Adam and I uld have wonrful nversatns about the work environments we were , and beg gay this kd of dtry and what we uld acplish beg out and the abily to share that.

What’s the impact of havg someone like Jemison — the rare gay Black woman wh a seat at the table a ont office Amerin sports, who has also worked all of the Big Four men’s pro sports — beg so out and proud? Y, those early days of the WNBA were a b rougher wh nversatns wh the league about how to addrs the gay and lbian prence the league. Longtime NBA referee Bill Kennedy revealed to Yahoo Sports Sunday night that he is gay, makg him the send openly gay active NBA official after Vlet Palmer's announcement 2014.

"I thk any time someone n be out at the top of their profsn 's a w, " out gay high school basketball ach Anthony Nimo told Outsports.

THE NBA HAS AN OPENLY GAY PLAYER: WHAT CHANG?

Yahoo Sports reveals that Rondo's one-game spensn was the rult of a tira that clud the Kgs guard's e of homophobic slurs towards Kennedy. Adam Silver said 2014 that he felt the league "fell behd" on the issue, even wh Jason Colls' announcement several years ago that he was an active gay NBA player.

The purpose of this list is to go a b more pth about some of the mors that are surroundg the players, not to nvce the rear that the athlet are gay.

In fact, as society is now much more open to people no matter their orientatn, we have seen a ton more athlet, both active and retired, e out and adm that they are homosexuals, and 's absolutely a great thg. This list will look at some of the most high profile exampl of pro athlet who have had mors about beg gay surroundg them, but aga, none of those are nfirmed and even if they were nfirmed, they would be somethg to celebrate. His ex-wife has acced him of beg gay and that Dunn’s lover om llege actually lived wh them for the first few years of their marriage.

DENNIS RODMAN SAYS HE THKS 10-20% OF PRO ATHLET ARE GAY AND THAT THE NBA IS READY FOR AN OUT ATHLETE

Qutns about Aikman's sexual orientatn have been around for s and the mor was started by Skip Bayls, when, his book, he stated that Troy Aikman might be gay. Wh Derrick Gordon g out today, the UMASS shootg guard adds his name to a growg list of gay male basketball players that have e out the media. Th far, this list of gay basketball players stands at seven players — five om the llege ranks and a uple om the NBA.

A gay man the hight level of profsnal sports is what the LGBT muny was lookg for and on April 29, 2013, Colls me out to Sport Illtrated. What seems to be the most mon thread all the g outs were the feelg of isolatn, fear, and lonels that an athlete feels ught between the hyper-masculy of male sports and the gay world. Tagged: rek schell / rrick gordon / Gay / gay basketball players / gay llege player / gay nba player / jason lls / john amaechi / lgbt / list / list of gay basketball players / nba player gay.

When Nashville Predators prospect Le Prokop me out this week, was the first time an active player unr ntract to an NHL team had ever publicly acknowledged they were gay.

A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS

Overnight, Prokop's announcement doubled the number of out gay athlet currently playg the untry's four major men's sports — football, basketball, baseball and hockey.

Though many retired former players have e out, is more unual for male profsnal athlet to say they are gay while still playg. Gay male athlet face cultural barriers Part of the reason for the lack of out gay players men's profsnal sports uld be that there are jt fewer of them the game. Rory Magrath, a rearcher at Solent Universy England, has suggted that 's possible gay men are unrreprented profsnal sports.

"Gay men are a fe rource, so they n't exist great numbers every quarter, " Magrath told "Gay men are overreprented some areas, and as a nsequence are gog to be unrreprented sports. That uld be due to the mascule culture at the center of the major sports, experts say, creatg an environment that is ls welg to gay athlet. Magrath helped thor a study that found that male athlet who me out as gay while still playg sports were largely met wh acceptance by their teammat.

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

Robbie Rogers ma history 2013 when he took the field for the Los Angel Galaxy after as the first openly gay player profsnal U. NBA player Jason Colls, who me out 2013 while he was still playg the league, later told NPR " went great" when he scribed the perd after announcg he was gay.

After Michael Sam beme the first openly gay athlete to be drafted to the NFL 2014, then-Miami Dolphs safety Don Jon tweeted "horrible, " rultg penalti and a spensn. David Kopay, a former NFL nng back who me out 1975, was unable to land a profsnal achg job after he announced publicly that he was gay.

There are key differenc the cultur of men's and women's athletics While few active players the major men's sports leagu have e out, many female profsnal athlet have said publicly that they're gay, om U. And, you know, for - I thk a lot of young people out there who, you know, are, you know, gay or lbian who are stgglg wh the issu; to see a role mol like that who's unaaid, I thk 's a great So athlet, ach, we want to hear om you.

FORMER NBA, KENTUCKY PLAYER ISAAC HUMPHRI OUT AS ONLY ACTIVE GAY PLAYER TOP-TIER MEN'S BASKETBALL

In 2011, Charl Barkley, a man known for his mon sense but never for his tact, said plaly, he was sure that every player has played wh gay guys; and went on: It bothers me when I hear the reporters and jocks get on TV and say oh, no guy n e out as a team sport. We bond outsi of the sport, and I jt - I was close to the people, but them beg gay no way changed the sport or my opn of them. And I thk if perceptn of the few change, then that reflects more on the public perceptn of somebody beg gay than Jason Colls.

And though I n't actually say that - bee this is back high school, and I don't know if any of my teammat were gay.

But even if they had been - and I hope this is a feelg that is g up the younger generatn - that beg gay or straight really don't matter to who you are as a person. If he's a good player, I want to play wh him, and I want to learn om him - gay or As you probably know better than I, though, for example the European soccer leagu, there's a lot of homophobia. There was Chris Brosard, the NBA analyst on ESPN, on an edn of "Outsi the L, " where he scribed homosexualy as an open rebelln to God.