On Monday, Jason Collins became the first technically active pro athlete in the big four American sports to come out as gay. Collins played last season with the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards but is to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The reaction to Collins' coming out has been vocally supportive, but there's a lot more to come. Most important, at 12 years of experience Collins is nearing the tail end of a journeyman career. He hasn't said he plans to retire, but his value as a free agent signing is doubtful. If he does end up retiring, it'll take someone else coming out to be the first actually active openly gay player.
Nevertheless, Collins' announcement is a big step forward for LGBTQ issues in professional sports, as the support he's received â?? overwhelmingly drowning out the negative comments â?? should encourage more athletes to at least seriously consider following suit. In this spirit, here's our Top 10 Athletes Who Broke Barriers.
Read Full Article »