Finally! The First of Many, I'm Sure

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay.

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

I have known Jason Collins since he was Chelsea's classmate and friend at Stanford. Jason's announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community. It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities. For so many members of the LGBT community, these simple goals remain elusive. I hope that everyone, particularly Jason's colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned.

President Bill Clinton

CARSON, Calif. – Is Major League Soccer really ready for a gay player?

It better be, because Robbie Rogers, who has returned to the game after announcing his retirement three months ago and revealing that he is gay, might make his LA Galaxy debut on Sunday night against the Seattle Sounders (11 pm ET, ESPN2, live chat on MLSsoccer.com) and, in doing so, bust open a sizable barrier in American sport.

Rogers, 26, is an icon and role model for LGBT youth and a rallying point for the gay community in Los Angeles and around the country, but he's also a lightning rod for homophobic outbursts – and not just from fans in the seats who might get carried away.

Things are said in the heat of the moment on the field, as San Jose's Alan Gordon can attest: He picked up a three-game suspension earlier this year for directing a homophobic slur at Portland's Will Johnson. Several players have served that sentence, including Rogers' new teammate, Colin Clark, for an incident last year when he was with Houston.

Those aren't bigoted attacks, and Rogers, who signed with LA this weekend after his rights were acquired from the Chicago Fire, expects everything is going to be just fine.

“I think there's something unique about the MLS,” Rogers, who also has played in the Netherlands and England, said after the Galaxy introduced him at a Home Depot Center news conference on Saturday. “I think the locker rooms in MLS are a little bit different from what I've experienced in Europe. That's not to say that in England or Europe that they're ready or not ready – I'm not sure. ...

“The MLS is definitely ready. And I think the United States is ready for more athletes to come out in other sports, whether that be the NBA, obviously, or the NFL, and I'm hoping from this experience and from the experience of others, more athletes will feel comfortable with doing so.”

PurpleGeezer wrote:Rogers comes on in the 77th minute to a large cheer from the crowd.

The best part is the Sounders are losing 0:4 and at this point are just waiting for it to end.

He was raised a Mormon. He was bullied so badly in pre-adolescence that he was home-schooled....

A 6-8, 215-pound openly gay Mormon basketball player at a Catholic school in Middle America Kansas seems an anomaly. Messersmith, though, fits in perfectly with his teammates and was embraced after he came out last fall, first to his coaches and then over time to his teammates....

When I came out, there was nobody in my sport I could" relate to, Messersmith said about why he agreed to share his story. "I always wanted to put it out there and I had a great experience with it and I wanted to show people it could be fine....

I'm definitely happy and content where I am right now. It's awesome that I have the team support I do. It's awesome that no one has said anything [negative] and I haven't had anything change. I just feel really comfortable and it's really nice."

Finally playing at home more than a week after returning to the NBA as the league's first openly gay player, (Jason) Collins checked in to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 17,732 that included former NBA commissioner David Stern with 2:41 remaining. He grabbed a rebound and had one of the Nets' NBA season high-tying 19 steals in their third straight victory.

A_Fan wrote:That has to be encouraging for him, let's hope he plays well enough to earn a regular spot on the team.

A_Fan wrote:That has to be encouraging for him, let's hope he plays well enough to earn a regular spot on the team.