What if the Next Athlete to "Come Out" is Someone you dont Like?

So far the whole “Gay” issue in sports has belonged to nice men like Jason Collins and Robbie Rogers, and I like many nod in acknowledgment just happy these men decided to free themselves from fear and a life of limitations. But it has also been a good year for MSNBC, the Political “left” and those who view the world in coalitions, segments, and blocks-call me cynical but they take my buzz away. Then I stepped back and realized that artificially there really was nothing for anyone to gain in creating a real discussion about tolerance because we’re focusing on sexuality-not likeability. Back then, Chris Broussard played a patsy rolled out by ESPN to make sure they had some ownership of a feel good story that was about to trample them en route to mainstream prominence. It all made me laugh, because Jason Collins was impossible to discourage or dislike before the announcement which kind of makes real progress on the matter impossible. We all sound like Rachel Maddow when talking about a great guy like Jason but tolerance is about not allowing your bias to overwhelm you when it is confirmed…all up in your face.

Why the hell do you think we stereotype? And why do you feel good when you resist it?

Jason Collins is a great Citizen because positions 8-12 on an NBA bench are reserved for guys who will be mainlined into the front office-consider it kind of like an executive internship for jocks. It’s July 31^st and I’m still waiting to see his name roll across the transaction ticker on ESPN, but if your savvy on all things corporate and political you know it will. Ever wonder why once "Badboys" who could play never get any “bench jockey” gigs at 4 Million per while Juwan Howard can speak more at the Heat Championship parade than LeBron? It’s because Juwan was wearing suits as far back as 1992! Want a clear picture of the rank and file NBA roster? And just how obvious Jason Collins was to be Gay Jackie Robinson? as recently as this past play-offs ( source: Dan Lebatard, Miami Herald) a PLAYOFF roster in flight took a poll and by 7-3 decided they would much rather a daughter be in porn than a son who is gay. That’s what makes tolerance so hard, there’s a reciprocal aspect of it that nobody wants to consider when they are thinking about the freedoms they want for nice people. The NBA is easily the league with the makeup of athletes that test our bounds of tolerance, if it wasn’t there wouldn’t have been a dress code enforced in 2003. What if the next athlete to come out is not somebody President Obama or Clinton wants to call? somebody none of you “want” in your locker room (or home) but somebody you need?.

A guy who is better athlete than person.

Would you still sing kumbaya if the next “out” athlete went to 4 different High Schools as a “gun for hire” under the auspices of some shady AAU coach?, the kind that made sure he had “spending money” during his one semester in College?. He don’t know no damned Clintons or Kennedy’s, but he do know “Mooky an nem”, who just happens to be going through his money trying to start a record company. Shake your head if you want to but it would take the same amount of courage for him to come out as you to accept him, in his case he put a gun on the card table when he told teammates on a road trip and asked “if any of ya’ll bitches wanna do something about it”.

He actually “knew” Aaron Hernandez and don’t understand why everybody’s lying on him, he was even dumb enough to endorse A-Rod being a clean athlete. He got “outed” in a police report, and it wasn’t ESPN’s Bill Simmons or super cute Alex Wagner waiting on him when he got out it was TMZ. When there’s no political points to score are there any people tripping over themselves to be more PC than the next person? Especially when there is less than PC thoughts running through your head about the Gay athletes conduct? Would Ellen DeGeneres want to be seen with a guy who has a string of jilted baby daddy’s trying to sue him for child support? It isn’t ideal, but neither is tolerance.

Jason Collins probably grand marshalled several pride parades this summer, but would he stop for any “photo ops” with a fellow Gay Player everybody knows is going to be broke in 10 years? A thug? While Collins was smart enough to enjoy the accolades the Stanford grad probably utilized the attention avenues to future income. That’s how Stanford and Duke guys view the NBA, as an opportunity, what if the next “out” player grew up viewing the NBA as lifesaver for his whole damned family?. This fictional player is more likely to pay too many bar tabs at the Pride Parade than have someone introduce him to an openly Gay congressman and you Proud  Political wonks know it- I just wonder how many of you will be there if the next one reminds you of Allen Iverson. He’s not nice to look at (like Rogers) nor does he make you “feel safe” like well-spoken blacks (like Collins) do, he’s like Sonny Liston- forcing you to cringe when you look at yourself and your prejudices in the mirror. Like Collins he’s popular in the locker room but for the wrong damned reasons and his contract is big and cumbersome making him impossible to trade. He’s the Gay spokesman for kids in the hood because that’s where the natural resources that make the NBA and NFL rich come from. Gay kids growing up in the hood respect him because he came from the same place and the hood is where the REAL outreach is needed. But nobody wants to go there unless you can build a show around it. The few times you allow him to be interviewed will most definitely be the last because he’s blunt and to the point, more Tupac than Colin Powell because despite appearances being Gay isn’t synonymous with intelligence.

Being Gay is Human

Will you feel the same way about a Gay Player if kids in disadvantaged communities look up to him for his tats and his game? The kids who struggle the most growing up Gay aren’t interested in neither Senate Seats nor Legislation, they simply don’t want to die tomorrow-what if the next Gay player can speak to that in terms that aren’t “made for TV”?. If the next Gay player is someone who isn’t eligible for the executive end of the bench and merely tolerated because he can flat out get buckets would you feel so good about yourself then? Can you be supportive of someone who tried to get the Male/Male symbol tattooed on his neck and ended up with some form of Prince’s symbol? Would you “Jackie Robinson” him the way you do Collins and Rogers or would you just hope he goes away. How would the self-proclaimed progressive among us feel if the next Gay player exhibited all of the behaviors people hate having to see in Rappers and heterosexual black males?. Is it frightening to think about? Especially to those who equate tolerance with education, environment and travel? Those who don’t realize pro sports are played by the impoverished?

Tolerance isn’t that Black and White, and Pro Locker rooms are filled with all sorts of men-not just the kind of men who serve the better angels of your belief system. There is a Gay Athlete out there who only wants to spend money, get laid and party just like his coworkers, so what are the benefits of him being “out” as opposed to a Stanford man like Collins?. When he comes out he’ll get a lot of negative feedback from fellow players not for his orientation but for his penchant for cheap fouls and yelling at refs-will it be judged homophobic or jerk phobic? Will Gay Rights Organizations be so quick to aid a player who tends to flip off fans? Can the writers who are legendary for holding grudges separate his right to be treated equally and the times he stiffed them for interviews? I doubt it. Tolerance is well and fine when dealing with someone you find transcendent or “special”, which is why the African American community is so apathetic- because Obama and Oprah routinely extinguish racism until someone gets shot. Tolerance is about looking a Tea Party loon in the face and saying “your voice is as good as mine” without attacking what intellectual level you believe he’s operating on. Tolerance isn’t a front ended, fluffy sort of thing because it’s most important when you want to choke the shit out of somebody- I think Buddhists call it “sacred pause”.

Tolerance is about “like” because we tolerate a lot more bullshit from people we think we like- and those we don’t have a small margin of error. Every workplace in America is about “like” and few outside of sports are purely merit driven, in other words a Gay Player that you don’t like will not be accepted politically despite merit in his profession. How can the enlightened “swells” rant and rave about a guy who got busted buying PED’s in a Miami “port a potty”? A guy with an entourage of loud obnoxious homies who want you to respect them as “managers” despite meeting said athlete in a club a month ago. When we can look at him with objectivity and not view him as detriment nor asset but as human that will be the day we are truly worth our liberal views. Until that day comes we haven’t been truly tested, and by the looks of things in everyday American life “off camera” we’ve come a long way on most groups outside of the mainstream- but we haven’t come that far on people we simply don’t like.

Tolerance only wears well when it’s hard to fit into, but when it fits nicely like Robbie Rogers’ “Halsey44” line of apparel it isn’t really “tolerance” at all….It’s Fashion.