Michael Sam’s announcement of being openly gay is clearly all about politics. His announcement comes close to the time that Jason Collins leaps back into the public image. This world continues to see people coming ‘out of the closet.’ I ask: is it necessary for them to do this? Aren’t there other items that are more newsworthy than this?
It’s not necessary for them to come out. I would rather not know that they are gay. I would rather make judgments on them based on the content of their character and not on them being gay. I hesitate to even bring the word “sexuality” into this as I think this conversation isn’t necessary. I understand there are gay people out there. I am not going to hate them. They can be gay. I also hate political correctness, as it’s dangerous, so I won’t disregard the educational aspects of homosexuality. So people should study homosexuality in the proper forum such as a psychology course.
I’d prefer that celebrities stop announcing that they are gay because it’s something I would rather not know. It’s too much information and it’s been going on since Martina Navratilova announced she was gay in 1981. It’s not new. People are treating it as if it is new, which leads me to many other points.
There is an agenda by people in the world – people want to see the legalization of gay marriage throughout the world. They are using sports to do this. Last April when Jason Collins came out, I thought to myself: Why is this in the news? The media is giving in to what politicians want them to give in to. The media is pushing this agenda that gay marriage is wonderful and great yet there are religions that are against homosexuality. A lot of people and athletes show their pride in religion. I’m not a cleric so I’m not qualified to make the conclusion. If people want to know the religious viewpoint on homosexuality, they can ask a cleric or read religious text. Yes, and there is the whole memo that goes: don’t discuss religion or politics. People can talk about religion and politics all they want. Ok, spare that last comment for another time. Now back to the topic at hand..
I found something interesting and it’s by ESPN’s Chris Broussard, who had this to say about Jason Collins’ coming out last April: “Personally, I don’t believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle or an openly premarital sex between heterosexuals, if you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, then the Bible says you know them by their fruits, it says that’s a sin. If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, adultery, fornication, premarital sex between heterosexuals, whatever it may be, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I do not think the Bible would characterize them as a Christian.”
It’s tough to argue with Broussard, who also pointed out there are a lot of Christians in the NBA. According to the Huffington Post, Broussard told a radio station last year, “I’m fine with homosexuals. I disagree [with being gay], but disagree respectfully … I don’t have any problem with homosexuals.” The Huffington Post also reported that Broussard says he has a gay friend. I believe that Broussard said what he did in the radio interview so that he can avoid being called “homophobic” or a “bigot.”
Also, in the career that Collins has had, he has only averaged 3.6 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, and .9 assists per game. His numbers are not worthy of him earning fame. He should earn his fame based on his performances in the game and not based on him being gay.
After playing in one game with the Brooklyn Nets, Collins has received positive attention. Sports Illustrated reports that Collins’ teammates were accepting of the Nets signing him before he signed with the team. Sports Illustrated also reports Collins saying after the game, “I know I can play in the NBA. I think I showed that tonight.”
Collins and Sam should not be categorized as Jackie Robinson-like figures. Jackie Robinson faced death threats. If Sam or Collins were to receive death threats, it would be front page news and be going crazy on Twitter.
We live in an overwhelmingly tolerant country. Jason Collins faced no opposition for his announcement of being gay and neither have the likes of Ellen DeGeneres and Anderson Cooper. Now of course there is going to be that idiot out there that shows extreme hate towards homosexuals, but I see the majority of the people in this country as being tolerant and not judging someone based on being their sexuality.
People also make it sound like it’s an earth-shattering revelation that Michael Sam has come out as gay. I say it’s not like that at all. We should all know that. Bill Clinton voiced his support for Collins and so did President Obama. It’s not like the elites don’t respect gay people.
Unfortunately, Sam will receive inappropriate scrutiny for being gay and it will cause whichever NFL team that takes him to also be scrutinized. My take is that Michael Sam will be accepted in the NFL and he will not be judged based on homosexuality. It will be interesting how Sam is ultimately treated and we will have to wait for time to tell.
The views expressed in the Opinion section are those of the writer(s) alone. The Rocket cannot verify all facts presented in a given column, but if we are aware of an error or omission, we reserve the right to include an editorial note for accuracy’s sake.
This is embarrassing. “I don’t think gay athletes should come out of the closet because I don’t want to know they’re gay because ew, gays.” Also if you think that LGBT people in this country don’t face oppression, you are hopelessly ignorant and need to educate yourself. People are bullied and killed because they are LGBT. I also like that the writer says people have “an agenda” to legalize gay marriage. Yes, I have an agenda, and it’s called equal rights for everyone. Not only is this article ignorant, but it’s also terribly written and hard to understand- there is no flow at all, and at the end I am still unsure of what point the writer is even trying to make. I hope this will inspire people to submit more articles to the opinion section, because if they do, trash like this won’t have to be published.
It’s a bummer that someone like you is representing our school population.
This is embarrassing. “I don’t think gay athletes should come out of the closet because I don’t want to know they’re gay because ew, gays.” Also if you think that LGBT people in this country don’t face oppression, you are hopelessly ignorant and need to educate yourself. People are bullied and killed because they are LGBT. I also like that the writer says people have “an agenda” to legalize gay marriage. Yes, I have an agenda, and it’s called equal rights for everyone. Not only is this article ignorant, but it’s also terribly written and hard to understand- there is no flow at all, and at the end I am still unsure of what point the writer is even trying to make. I hope this will inspire people to submit more articles to the opinion section, because if they do, trash like this won’t have to be published.
It’s a bummer that someone like you is representing our school population.