Jason Collins Comes Out: What Impact Will It Have?

Jason Collins is gay. Okay, now what? How will his coming out impact the landscape of gay perception and treatment in professional and amateur sports? This is the million dollar question that many media outlets have been trying to answer in their own politically correctness way, but what the media perceives will be a positive acceptance of gay athletes due to Collins’s reception may not be the reality of a less popular, closet gay athlete. Yet, his coming out may be the beginning of a necessary dialogue for the younger generation in this “bullying” culture we live in.

Collin’s announcement of him being gay reminded me of Magic Johnson’s announcement that he was HIV positive. It may not have been as shocking, but like Magic’s announcement it started an uncomfortable conversation that most people choose to ignore or discuss. Although this is a societal issue, coaches can create an open and safe climate for their closet gay players and teammates. The behavior and actions of the coach are important in order to develop this type of environment. The two things that need to occur are:

• The coach needs to reflect that of one who is compassionate and fair to each of his/her players. Building and maintaining the trust of the players is the cornerstone of coaching. If the players do not trust the coach, he/she will not be able to get them to buy into the system nor be able to get more out of the players than they realize they have. Most importantly, the trust between the coach and player opens the lines of communication, which tends to cover more topics than just basketball; topics such as academics, peer pressure, relationships. These life conversations create an “off the record” moment to discuss issues that players may not feel comfortable to communicate with anyone else.

• The coach needs to be a positive role model at all times, because players watch the behavior of their coaches and listen to what they say. How a coach conducts him/herself leaves an everlasting impression on their player’s psychic that may or may not be harmful. Closet gay players may or may not feel comfortable to talk to their coach depending on what they feel their coach’s position on homosexuality is. If a coach uses gay slurs at practice like ex-Rutgers coach, Mike Rice, a gay player would definitely feel offended and unable to come out to his/her coach. So conducting oneself with honor and integrity are very crucial as a coach.

Hopefully, Collin’s coming out will be a teachable moment for all of us and that we will use it to enhance humanity, only time will tell.