# First openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport- NBA player Jason Collins **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [April 29, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012 "2013-04-29T15:52:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shooby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Shooby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shooby)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/61 "2013-05-03T03:31:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Apparently, the first openly gay male athlete in a major sport was Glenn Burke, in 1976: > > [Actually, Jason Collins Isn't the First Openly Gay Man in a Major Pro Sport - The Atlantic](http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/05/actually-jason-collins-isnt-the-first-openly-gay-man-in-a-major-pro-sport/275523/) Wow. I don’t know what I’m more astounded by - that a baseballer came out over 50 years ago or that journalists didn’t report on something that would have garnered them a ton of controversy/ratings/publicity. Truly a different era. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/62 "2013-05-03T03:42:00Z")
1976 was 37 years ago, son. And 1982, when Burke came out to the _public_, some time after he retired, was 31 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Shooby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f475e1/32.png) [@Shooby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shooby)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/63 "2013-05-03T08:11:38Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > 1976 was 37 years ago, son. And 1982, when Burke came out to the _public_, some time after he retired, was 31 years ago. Haha, it’s been a long week. Simple arithmetic is apparently too much to ask from me 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/64 "2013-05-03T13:31:46Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > 1976 was 37 years ago, son. And 1982, when Burke came out to the _public_, some time after he retired, was 31 years ago. If he tried to tell sports writers about it and they didn’t want to publish it, I think that counts. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/65 "2013-05-03T13:59:44Z")
It’s not at all clear to me that he “tried” to get sports writers to write about it. He didn’t actively conceal it from sports writers he talked to, and those that knew declined to take the initiative to write about it. They probably thought they were being considerate in their discretion, doing him a favor–or else they were simply mindful of their own editors, readerships, and careers. Burke never spoke with gay-oriented publications at all during his playing career. If Burke had specifically wanted to get the fact out to the public, it would have happened. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/66 "2013-05-03T14:17:00Z")
Were there any significant LGBT-focused periodicals then? I know _The Advocate_ has been around since the Sixties, but I can’t imagine it had more than a few thousand readers at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/67 "2013-05-03T14:19:23Z")
> [@Shooby](#): > > Wow. > > I don’t know what I’m more astounded by - that a baseballer came out over 50 years ago or that journalists didn’t report on something that would have garnered them a ton of controversy/ratings/publicity. Truly a different era. The press also didn’t report on FDR’s disability, Babe Ruth’s whoring, Mickey Mantle’s drinking, or John F. Kennedy’s affairs. There was something more like a gentleman’s agreement between the press and the people it covered in days of yore - maybe society was a little more genteel or maybe nobody realized the scope of the public’s appetite for scandal and the details of the private lives of famous people. Leaving aside the question of whether Burke wanted his story written about, I think at that time the press wouldn’t have seen it as a subject of social import and controversy and publicity. They would’ve seen it as sordid and their editors might’ve just killed it. In modern terms it might’ve been seen as a story about an athlete coming out as a pedophile. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/68 "2013-05-03T14:49:19Z")
With respect to Burke, we’re talking about the late 1970s. _After_ Vietnam, after Nixon lied to us all on TV. Hardly an age of innocence. The sports media may have been reluctant to _start_ a story about a gay athlete who had not (as I believe) _insisted_ that they do so, but if the gay press (which was small but widespread and well-established) had picked it up, general writers would have had to deal with it somehow. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/69 "2013-05-03T17:12:59Z")
Broussard is doubling down on the stupidity. Asked about his earlier comments he said he doesn’t agree with being gay, whatever that means, and gays can be Christians, but only if they feel really bad about it. Asante Samuel made some dumbass comments on Twitter about ‘why do people need to announce their sexual preferences’ and ‘I don’t want to explain this to kids,’ but when ESPN brought him in for an interview he refused to say anything at all. That was some good, pointless TV. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/70 "2013-05-05T17:25:30Z")
Please tell me. I have not followed NBA for more than a decade. How well known is this guy to a casual fan. Someone mentioned that he is at the end of his career. When an International cricketer came out a few years ago, the overriding reaction was “who the hell is he”. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/71 "2013-05-05T19:58:46Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Please tell me. I have not followed NBA for more than a decade. How well known is this guy to a casual fan. Someone mentioned that he is at the end of his career. I think mainly fans from the cities he played for would have known him. I’ve not heard of him before this, but I’m also slightly less than a casual fan. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/72 "2013-05-27T21:28:41Z")
La Galaxy (MLS) had an openly gay player take the field [yesterday](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/28/sports/soccer/milestone-for-gay-athletes-as-robbie-rogers-plays-for-galaxy.html?_r=0). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/73 "2014-02-21T18:00:38Z")
Now that the NBA trade deadline has passed, it’s possible Collins will find himself employed soon. [It’s been widely reported that he worked out for the Brooklyn Nets recently and the LA Clippers may also have some interest](http://nba.si.com/2014/02/20/jason-collins-brooklyn-nets-los-angeles-clippers-reports/). Collins spent years with the Nets early in his career and the Clippers are coached by Doc Rivers, who coached the Celtics when Collins played for them. He may only get a 10-day contract at first, but presumably the team that signs him would want him through the rest of the season and the playoffs if he’s able to contribute. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/74 "2014-02-22T23:08:31Z")
When I saw this had been revived after eight months, I thought it would be about Michael Sam. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/75 "2014-02-23T17:19:06Z")
ESPN says Collins is signing with Brooklyn now and will play tonight against the Lakers in L.A. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/76 "2014-02-24T01:41:19Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > ESPN says Collins is signing with Brooklyn now and will play tonight against the Lakers in L.A. [Sports Illustrated](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nba/news/20140223/jason-collins-signs-brooklyn-nets/?eref=sihp) says Collins signed on a 10-day contract. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/77 "2014-02-24T02:42:43Z")
Collins has dressed and is available, though he hasn’t yet taken the court. That’s to be expected, he’s a defensive specialist who won’t see a lot of minutes. In totally unsurprising news, nobody on the Nets seems to mind. ETA: Well, as I was typing that, he got into the game for a few minutes and played his usually first-rate defense, so that’s out of the way. He seems to be in game shape, gotta give him credit for staying fit while he was out of the league. ETA2: And then he commits a turnover so maybe a little rust. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/78 "2014-02-24T15:23:02Z")
Can someone more knowledgable than me (i.e. anyone) explain the timing of this signing and its significance? I wonder about the timing coming after Michael Sam’s coming out and upcoming NFL draft. That plus the rumors that an active player was considering coming out makes me suspicious of the timing. Is this a publicity stunt or is it a legitimate signing? The 10-day thing makes me think its a stunt. But I don’t know much of anything about basketball. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/79 "2014-02-24T15:28:32Z")
Nothing suspicious about it. The Nets needed a Center and were unable to trade for one. Collins is a bubble player at this point in his career, not quite good enough to sign for a full contract, but better than a lot of other options for a short term fill in. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012/80 "2014-02-24T15:28:46Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Can someone more knowledgable than me (i.e. anyone) explain the timing of this signing and its significance? > > I wonder about the timing coming after Michael Sam’s coming out and upcoming NFL draft. That plus the rumors that an active player was considering coming out makes me suspicious of the timing. Is this a publicity stunt or is it a legitimate signing? The 10-day thing makes me think its a stunt. But I don’t know much of anything about basketball. 10-day signings are pretty common, especially after the trade deadline, and even more especially when they involved players who haven’t signed with a team all season (and are less likely to be in game shape). Not a publicity stunt - the Nets are playoff contenders looking to add significantly important pieces. Collins will come off the bench to add defensive depth. Plenty of details in the link that Patch provided last night. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-openly-gay-athlete-playing-in-a-major-american-team-sport-nba-player-jason-collins/657012.md?page=5)