Pete Babcock, once the Atlanta Hawks’ general manager, met Jason Collins, who would later become a Hawk under different management, more than a decade ago at a basketball camp in Maine. This, however, wasn’t the usual collection of AAU stars showing off for college recruiters.
“This was unique,” Babcock said Monday. “It was Israeli and Palestinian kids, and Jason and (twin brother) Jarron were counselors. The idea was to try and use basketball as a way to bridge some gaps back in their countries.”
Earlier Monday, Jason Collins made news by announcing via Sports Illustrated that he’s gay. Wrote Collins: “I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.”
It matters not that Collins isn’t a star — his role in three seasons as a Hawk wasn’t to score or to rebound but simply to pester Dwight Howard — or that, at 34, he’s nearing the end of his career. (He played this season with the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards.) What matters is that he raised his hand.
Said Babcock, now a scout for the Cleveland Cavaliers: “I admire his action. It’s a real positive thing and I hope it’s viewed that way not just in basketball but in all sports. It’s been a long time in coming.”
That it took until April 29, 2013, for a male athlete active in a major North American team sport to issue such a declaration tells us how brave (and that’s the correct word) this is. Remember that Jason Collins has a twin — around the NBA, that’s Jason’s nickname: “Twin” — and note that he didn’t reveal his sexual orientation to the person with whom he’d shared a womb until last summer. And that his brother, according to Sports Illustrated, was stunned.
After that moment of disbelief, Jarron Collins realized that, straight or gay, Jason is still his brother. On Monday, the NBA raised high that banner of acceptance. Commissioner David Stern released a statement saying the league is proud Jason Collins “has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue.”
From Hawks managing partner Bruce Levenson: “Jason represented everything that we look for as a member of the Atlanta Hawks and we are proud he wore our jersey.”
From the famous Laker Kobe Bryant, who in 2011 was fined $100,000 by the NBA for using a homophobic slur: “Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others.”
From Hawks coach Larry Drew: “Hopefully we’re at the point where we can accept people for who they are.”
From Hawks forward Josh Smith: “Hopefully some people who might be uncomfortable coming out can look to Jason and have that confidence.”
The wave of support was so immense that you almost wondered why it took so long for an active player to say: Yep, I’m gay. Almost, but not quite. It took so long because too many among us continue to see sports as the arena populated only by manly men, to believe that being gay is to forfeit all claim on manliness.
It was with seeming glee that Collins, in his SI essay, noted that in 2004-2005 he’d led the NBA in personal fouls. “I go against the gay stereotype,” he conceded and maybe that’s what made him the right man for this massive moment. Someone had to be first and that someone turned out to be a huge guy who plays a rough game.
Therein is the lesson of Collins’ revelation: Sexual orientation doesn’t make you worse (or better) or wrong (or right). It makes you who you are. Asked how Collins’ admission might play in his next locker room, Smith said: “This is a business. In each and every business, not everyone is the same.”
In telling us who he is, Jason Collins again did as he’d sought to do that summer in Maine. He tried to help us bridge our gaps. You want a hero? Here he is.
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