Tag Archives: LGBT community

Five Important Ramifications of NBA Pro Basketball Player Jason Collins’ Coming Out

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… And also I recognize Women’s Basketball super-star Brittany Griner below.

Major LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) news was made last month when Jason Collins became the first

Jason Collins became the first active athlete among the four major US pro sports to come out as gay via a recent online Sports Illustrated article

Jason Collins became the first active athlete among the four major US pro sports to come out as gay via a recent online Sports Illustrated article

active (non-retired) professional among the major four American Men’s pro sports (Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey) to come out publically as a gay man. Link to the Sports Illustrated online article. There was a major media flurry, and like always I like to wait for a month for the hoopla to die down so I can offer an additional thoughtful analysis. Here are my five hopeful long term ramifications of Jason’s coming out:

1. This sends the strong message to our LGBT youth that they can become anything they want and have the talent to do. LGBT youth do not need to be “pigeon holed” into careers stereotypically attributed to gay men and lesbians, but instead can pursue any career they want, including pro sports. And perhaps some day we will have a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender President of the United States!

2. This could help curb gay bullying and gay bashing. Bullies should think twice about picking on an LGBT person; perhaps their gay 7 foot tall, 240 pound muscular friend will come to their bullied victim’s defense. Not all gay guys are 120 pound slim guys. See link to my most recent blog on bullying which contains additional links to blogs and resources.

3. This will help pro sports become much more open to full acceptance of LGBT diversity, and perhaps significantly decrease homophobia in pro sports. The younger generation can aspire to play in pro leagues and also be out and true to their LGBT selves.

This year's first WNBA's draft pick Brittney Griner recently came out as a lesbian. Here she is cutting down the nets after leading Baylor to their 2012 championship

This year’s first WNBA’s draft pick Brittney Griner recently came out as a lesbian. Here she is cutting down the nets after leading Baylor to their 2012 championship


4. Since Jason Collins is African-American, it helps dispel the myth that homosexuality is a “white person’s thing.” LGBT people are found across all segments of humanity. See also my last month’s blog on 5 Common Misconceptions about Gay People.

5. Finally, this breaks the gay male stereotype of all gay men being feminine and small. The LGBT community is extremely diverse with a wide range of gender expressions, shapes and sizes.

I would like to close this article with a call out to a female basketball star who recently came out as a lesbian; Brittany Griner, who led Baylor to the 2012 Women’s NCAA championship and was this year’s first draft pick in the WNBA draft. Link to the article about Brittany.

Five Common Misconceptions About Gay People

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After my very popular blog two weeks ago titled “Five Things to Never Say to Gay People” (Link), I am following it up with these five common misconceptions about gay people. I thank some of my readers who gave me some of these ideas.

1. It’s a “white person’s thing.” The one cool thing about the LGBT community is that is intersects with every race, culture, country. Didn’t we all gasp when the president of Iran told an Ivy League audience “we don’t have gay people in Iran.” (Link to article) Perhaps there is some “inherent racial prejudice” with the LGBT community and we in leadership need to be very proactive and vigilant to assure our whole community are represented and are at the table.

2. Gay people don’t have kids. The demographics are continually shifting and more and more same gender couple are having children via natural childbirth methods as well as adoption. Also many gay people have

The number of same-gender female and male couples raising children is increasing rapidly

The number of same-gender female and male couples raising children is increasing rapidly

children in earlier marriages before coming out as gay. FACT: the percentage of same-gender household raising children increased from 17% in the 2000 US Census to 25% in 2010! (Link to ABC news article)

3. All gay people think about is sex – sex – sex. Maybe it just seems that way because many LGBT people may not have as many hang ups as other people about sexuality. Seriously, gay people also think about work, finances, hobbies, their communities and family… which brings us to:

4. If I am straight, my gay friends all want to make a pass at me. Most LGBT people are sensible enough to realize that their straight friends are not going to be interested sexually in them, plus why would we want to ruin a good friendship? Finally, don’t flatter yourself and assume you are your gay’s friends type anyway. Many gay people are very picky. (Smile)

5. All gay men are feminine (and drag queens) and all lesbians are masculine. Not true. Even though LGBT people are often fine with exhibiting both their masculine and feminine sides, there is a wide range of gender expression across the LGBT community. NOTE: it is very dangerous to jump to conclusions about someone’s sexual orientation based on their feminine or masculine qualities. Also this stereotyping is particular dangerous to our young people – we do not need gay male teens thinking the only careers for them are hair stylists and interior decorators, and all lesbian teens thinking they need to be truck drivers or mechanics. Pplease, no offense meant to hair stylists, interior designers and truck drives – LGBT people make great ones!)