Monday’s headlines were dominated by Jason Collins’ decision to open up about his sexual orientation, which opened up the door for athletes everywhere to be able to do the same one day. For the most part, there was wide-spread support around the league about his decision.
Jason Collins reveals he is gay
Emeka Okafor was one of the first to know that Collins would break the news nationally, from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:
“The Washington Wizards’ Emeka Okafor had no idea that the phone call he took from a teammate Monday morning would include a heads-up on news that would forever change sports. Okafor was one of the select people Jason Collins gave advance notice that he was telling the world he was gay in a first-person article posted on Sports Illustrated’s website. Collins’ announcement made him the first active player in one of the U.S.’s four major pro sports leagues to come out. Okafor said Collins was “calm, collected and cool” during their conversation.”
Some, however, weren’t all necessarily 100 percent supportive. Chris Broussard of ESPN created major controversy by stating his opinion about what it means to be a homosexual on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines”, transcribed by Ben Golliver of SI:
If you asked most folks around the NBA that question — the one in the headline — 80 percent or more would have answered Jennings.
