Jason Collins, somebody had to go first

An NBA Player Comes Out

Kudos to Jason

And to the Boston Red Sox:

We salute you, @jasoncollins34 for your courage and leadership. Any time you want to throw out a first pitch at Fenway Park, let us know.
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) April 29, 2013

And Jared Sullinger:

Jared Sullinger ‏@Jared_Sully0 1h
Much respect to @jasoncollins34 for doing what he is doing.... He was a great teammate and I support you either way...

I do think from a "historical significance" standpoint, there's a rush to judgment here from a lot of people in the media that belies the reality. Jason Collins is a free agent in his mid-30s, his basketball season is over and he's a marginal player. He's not the first openly gay "active" player in one of the major sports leagues until he actually steps onto an NBA basketball court again, which might not ever happen, for reasons completely unrelated to his sexuality.

Assuming that he does latch on with a team somewhere (and maybe this actually helps his chances), then it's big. It's still not Jackie Robinson. He's not going to be in any starting lineups. He's not going to be on the court for 30 or 40 minutes a game. And for the handful of minutes that he does play, the only time he touches the ball might be when he grabs a rebound. There's only so much that he can do to clear the way for other gay athletes. Not because of who he is as a person (by all accounts, a good one), but who he is as a player.

Regardless, good for Jason Collins for giving himself the chance to feel like a whole person.

I think that's his most important message. We'll all feel better when everyone stops pretending.

What he did may not be on the same level as what Robinson did - I can't imagine what would be - but his timing is good. Keep the acceptance train moving.

Well...his timing could have been a little bit better if he waited until his most recent *real* NBA team (the Wizards don't count) wasn't fighting for its life in the playoffs. You know that the Celtics are going to be asked questions about this.

But that's a minor inconvenience. Culturally, the moment was obviously coming. And having a thoughtful, well-spoken, high character guy thrust into the role of being the pioneer is in and of itself going to help.

My point about Jackie Robinson...no, of course you can't come close, because Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier indirectly laid the groundwork for breaking other barriers. And I don't think, with where our culture is today, a gay athlete will have to go through anything close to what Robinson did. The worst of it might be just as bad (or worse), but there won't be as much of it.

But for whatever the worst of it is...a guy who plays sparingly, and is almost never the focal point when he does get on the court, isn't going to have to bear the full burden that a star player would have.

Doesn't matter. There doesn't have to be a single Jackie Robinson equivalent. I was commenting more on the media (over)reaction than anything else.