Last week, Mr. O'Connor made a blog post, Between the Lines: Covering (and Uncovering) Sports, which really got me thinking about if the world of sports has taken a step forward in being open with gay people participating in their sport. That post used the example of Jason Collins, the NBA player who recently came out as gay. Another pro athlete, Robbie Rogers, became the first openly gay Major League Soccer (MLS) to play in a game.
His story is interesting and sad. He played on the Colombus Crew for a while, and then came out as gay. He was so anxious about the response from teammates and fans that he quit after he came out. But years later, he is back in the game! Though he isn't in the big 4 (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL), being the first openly gay MLS player is still an amazing accomplishment.
Do you think this will help others in all sports feel comfortable coming out? Is this an indicator of progress? Why or why not?
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