Wednesday, April 17, 2013

NFL Player to Possibly Come Out?

This relates to an earlier post by Cav on sports stars potentially coming out as gay. I thought this was a well written article on ESPN about the possibility of the first openly gay actively playing NFL player. There have been reports that one or maybe even four active players are considering coming out soon. This would be a major sign of progress in our society toward toleration in my opinion. The NFL, and sports in general, are so hyper-masculine. It would be a great positive sign to see a gay player be embraced and accepted in the League.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9169413/no-perfect-gay-nfl-player-come-out

Here's a series of polls on ESPN that shows what fans think about the possibility of openly gay athletes in pro sports.

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/polls?pCat=46&sCat=3625

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting, Russell. I think this addresses well the power of sports to influence social attitudes. The list of progressive sports "firsts," from Jackie Robinson to Don Haskins to Billie Jean King, all underscore the mass appeal of sports and their ability to broaden the perspectives of viewers. It's one thing for an activist or politician to state a position, but something else entirely for an African-American, or woman, or gay or lesbian athlete to present a positive, relatable example to audiences in living rooms across America. Both are necessary, of course, but I think sports provide a unique avenue to the minds of many "everyday" Americans.

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  3. I'm sure most of you have seen this by now, but I figured it would be worth posting an interesting account of Jason Collins (an NBA player who just became "the first active male athlete in a major U.S. team sport to come out of the closet.") The intersection of religion and sexuality is intriguing, especially with respect to some of the pieces we have read lately. It's also definitely worth noting that he is currently a free agent, so it will be interesting if his coming out potentially has any effect on whether or not a given team might sign him in the near future.

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-reveals-gay-nba-interview/

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