Good, good. Soon, we will completely undermine all that is good and American.

Next on the Gay Agenda: apple pie.

Don't you mean apple torte with a caramel drizzle?

"The Gay Athlete" is a profoundly strange headline.

Who?

Not sure which is more remarkable: that SI (of red-blooded het swimsuit issue fame) did this or that an active athlete came out. Both are quite huge.

@ 5 Wait why can't a magazine with a swimsuit issue be gay friendly?

Hooray!

@3: Yeah, really. Weird use of the definite article.

Straight players talking about possible gay players coming out = Controversy Gold!

Gay players coming out of the closet to the press = Boring.

Hay maybe we can get some Sacramento King players to say something bad about gay marriage?

since Collins is a free agent, maybe the Seattle Supersonics can get him on the roster for next season!

@5 How can you be sure he's active?

Oh, you mean actively playing. Nevermind, my bad.

Well, Kobe Bryant's on his side so far, so that's a pretty good start.

Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 29, 2013

THE Gay Athlete - like Highlander, there can be only one! Looking forward to the swordfight to the death with his next challenger.

@6 - there is no reason they can't be - I'll survey my lesbian friends to see if they too felt about it the way I did as a teenager in the 80s, but I'm kind of doubting that; ditto my gay friends.

No, in all seriousness, there is no reason for them to not be gay-friendly, and I'm really happy for SI that they are and have taken this up, but no question: it is proof the cultural center has shifted.

Yawn. Speaking as a mid-30s straight male ex-jock and current sports junkie, I don't see this as that groundbreaking. Most people my age and younger grew up around openly gay people. We all pretty much knew who the gay guys were on my hockey/football teams. All that has changed is the political climate to allow them to come out.

That being said, the fact that most people would shrug their shoulders is a big deal.

@15 Living in the closet is never easy and it only gets more painful when you're in the sexual prime of your 20s and 30s and are trapped there. The big deal is that it takes one person to change the climate. Now that hopefully, finally, pro athletes can be out, they won't have to live such miserable private lives. They can also be role models for gay youth that are currently playing sports. Those kids will know there can be a place for them, even in the big leagues. That's also a big deal.

This will be an even bigger deal when we see more "who? He's not even that good.." kind of shit, because it would mean that it's only noteworthy when a STAR athlete decides to reveal a same sex orientation! (Actually, a MALE star, since we've already become more inured to lesbian athletes, overall....)

He's 7 feet tall...swoon!

@1, so you are a Rand Paul libertarian? Armed guards in elementary schools, drones over America and suspending the rights of a US citizen because someone said America is the battlefield aren't threats to the democracy. However, one gay basketball player somehow threats your pursuit of happiness?

@19: You may have misread @1.

I blame all these people coming out for the opening of a new restaurant at NE 44th half a block W of University Way which serves Steak and Eggs.

I mean, seriously, what's next?

@1 I have already switched from saying "I'm gayer than a fanny pack" to "I'm gayer than apple pie."

It should catch on any moment.

@15: this is a big deal, a very big deal, because despite folks your age and younger being OK with this, how many professional team sports athletes your age and younger have come out to their teammates who, incidentally, are also your age or younger? I hear you but I think your comment is that it SHOULD generate a "yawn" or hopefully, soon, announcements like these will generate "yawns" but we are not there yet.

Jason Collins is, in some ways, the perfect athlete to start this. He has made his money (thus mitigating the risk that the response is for teams to stay away from him), is a well-established pro but not a star. His announcement generates support from star athletes (Kobe and others) which will make it more likely that a star will come out (and that will be paradigm-shifting) and that, if not the floodgates, a number of other gay players will come out. Been a fan of his and his twin brother, Jarron, from their days at Stanford. Now a big fan of his courage.

@21, I didn't misread it, just didn't realize gays are ruining 'traditional American values' was a joke. Seems a little cocky considering nothing has been decided by the US Supreme Court. Whatever, good one.

@24 - You are right - not one of my teammates growing up were out of the closet. I hope I didn't imply that Collins' announcement wasn't courageous.

Anyway, Tim Tebow got cut by the Jets, so teh Gays were + 1 NBA gay and -1 NFL gay. Gay neutral as far as sports world is concerned.

@19, 25

sar·casm
/ˈsärˌkazəm/
Noun
The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.

And, of course, our dear friend MacCrocodile was conveying contempt for the Chicken Little alarmists.

Awesome news. John Amaechi was close to coming out, he sort of did to his team mates which is what made his relationship with Jerry "Modern Man" Sloan so strained and shortened his NBA career. I wish Jason Collins all the best, not an easy thing to do.

I yearn for the day when coming out by sports stars or celebrities is so boring and uneventful that it doesn't make the news.

@29 - Me too actually. But until that day, we should celebrate the wins.

Welcome to Freedom, Jason. The closet is hell.

@27, say thanks for understanding, see you next Tuesday.

@15, if it is such a "yawn" why aren't ALL the gay pros coming out?BTW "We all knew who the gay guys were" is SCARY to me, the gay guy. Tell me, how did you treat them?

@19,25,32
You may want to consult a doctor, because a stick appears to be lodged so deeply in your ass that it can only be removed surgically.

So now gay teens can aspire to a career in professional sports, put hours and hours each week into athletics instead of academics and then the 1 in 7,000 who make it can tempt the next generation down the same path?

I'm being unfair, because of course they can always fall back on those lucrative jobs as middle school PE teachers and Jazzercise instructors at local gyms in order to pay the rent.

This IS good news and it DOES help. But I'd rather there was a Nobel Laureate coming out.

@35: if the odds of making it as a professional athlete is 1-in-7000, what are the odds of winning a Nobel Prize? I'd guess that they are longer but since you were trying to illustrate your point, you must know.

And this is not about a gay kid to change his life goals to be like Jason Collins. It is about gay and straight kids - and adults - becoming more comfortable with who they are and how they see others. A gay Nobel Laureate? That would be great (perhaps there is one already) just like it is great for my kids to learn of gay doctors, lawyers, politicians, actors, engineers, teachers, etc. (even PE teachers; even Jazzercise instructors; even unpaid volunteers)

Aspiring athletes will be no more tempted by Jason Collins than they were already. They will be inspired to be - publicly - who they are with less fear of reprisals. At least I hope they will be.