By Solomon Shapiro

Last week, the first active American Major League player to come out as openly gay was center Jason Collins, who at the end of last season with the Washington Wizards, became a free agent in more ways than one. Collins stated that he “wants to continue to play basketball”, but more importantly that he wants to be “genuine and authentic and truthful [about who he is]”. Collins’s coming out will not affect how teams look at him as a prospect, or his endorsements with companies. Collins is a “Nike athlete” which is a company “committed to diversity and inclusion”. Lately, there have been rumors that at least one NFL player will also be coming out, as well as athletes in other major league sports. These undisclosed athletes now have an open door through which to walk, instead of having to break through on their own. Since sports, and more importantly, athletes, have such a large impact on the fans, when an respected elite athlete does something like this, the general public takes note. And, in some cases, individual perspectives and beliefs are adjusted. In this way, Mr. Collins has contributed another strong and positive voice to the LGBTQ movement.