So if you had 2013 in the pool, you won, [View all]

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but here it is, at long last, our first out gay male athlete in one of the big four sports. Specifically, Jason Collins is the one. I admit, before today, I hadn't a clue who he was. I don't watch the NBA, college basketball, or any basketball. But the fact is today, is a huge day for gay rights. Gays have made huge gains in many occupations. The CEO of Apple is openly gay. The director of the amazingly successful X men franchise is openly gay. We have openly gay teachers, lawyers, doctors, and who knows what else. An openly gay actor plays Spock in the Star Trek reboot. We have a lesbian US Senator. At long last we have an openly gay male athlete.

My dad, who died just last year, used to watch the Negro leagues as a kid. He was a teenager when Jackie Robinson joined the Major Leagues. In a few decades, parents will tell their kids what it was like watching pro sports without any openly gay athletes. The notion of Whites only baseball seemed to be from a distant planet when I was 13. May the notion of straight only athletics be viewed the same way in 2043. Jason Collins has earned his place in history today. Today there is a kid who is good at sports who knows if he can play, he can play, gay or not.