Free Agent Center Jason Collins Becomes First Openly Gay Athlete in the NBA

The distinction actually goes beyond the NBA; its more like in male professional sports in North America. There have been rumors about a player(s) coming out in the NFL for months. Numerous players have spoken out in favor of it, but no one has yet to come forward.

The tough part is being the first to take that step, and Jason Collins decided that he was going to be that guy--so he announced that he is in fact gay.

"I didn't set out to be the first gay athlete in a major American team sport, but since I am I am happy to start the conversation."

A conversation will most certainly be started. There will likely be plenty of people that will come forward to congratulate him for having the courage and inner strength to come out now rather than after he retires, and righteously so. Most of us will not be able to understand how he had to live. Keeping such a major part of his life secret--I can't imagine how hard it must have been.

Now that the announcement has been made the first thing the media is going to do is track down any and all players that he ever shared a locker room with. Everyone is going to be asked essentially the same thing by a thousand reporters--How does it feel to know you shared a locker room with a gay player for however long you did?

That is where the real test is going to come. Will these guys that saw him as a teammate and likely a friend still see him that way? Or will they feel betrayed and lied to?

If they are homophobic will they react accordingly?The man played for five teams over 12 seasons. There will be a lot of players to talk to. Will they all be okay with it or at the least politically correct? Or will one react like Chris Culliver for the 49ers did prior to the Super Bowl last year?

There will be another test next fall as well when Jason tries to continue his playing career. Will someone give him a chance to continue playing?

The former first round pick has not averaged more than 16 minutes a game since the 06-07 season when he was still with New Jersey. Since then he had another half season with Jersey, the other half being with Memphis, another with Minnesota, three in Atlanta, and then this season he spent time with Boston and Washington.

So the stage is set for teams to say, "You know, this guy has been nothing more than a role player his entire career and now at the age of 34 and with 12 seasons under his belt we'd rather give a younger player a shot."

Will it be because of that or will it be because he's gay? That is something I don't think we could ever truly know absent an admission. We can only hope that along with his courage a coach somewhere will look at the depth that he can provide at center for whatever team he is on and nothing else.

Only time will tell.