By Michael Kelley ’14 and Mick Kowaleski ’14
NBA veteran Jason Collins came out as professional sports’ first openly gay active athlete. But what’s the true significance?
Kowaleski: Mike, in early March, we asked who would step up and be the gay Jackie Robinson. With Jason Collins, it seems that we have that individual.
But is this an event on par with No. 42 breaking the color barrier?
The answer is “no,” and that’s the best part about this story. This isn’t as controversial as Robinson playing baseball for the first time. The reason is that, unlike the racial issues of the 50s, everybody seems to support it.
The general reaction to Collins coming-out was not filled with hate. This is an indicator that society is more than ready and even excited for a gay athlete, especially after Brittney Griner offhandedly revealed she was a lesbian in an interview.
Instead of vitriol, we have support. Two presidents, Jay-Z, Kobe…America’s biggest figures are congratulating Collins.
What was even better was the general populace’s reaction to Collins’ reveal: a careless “cool.” It was a nonchalant nod of recognition, an indifferent “mhm” of acknowledgment. It wasn’t a big deal.
How great is that?
Kelley: It was fantastic to see the waves of support that followed his announcement and the release of the Sports Illustrated story. Read it if you have not yet already.
However, despite all the positive words of support that Collins received, there were still several significant figures that did not really support him. How sad is that?
Mike Wallace, now a Miami Dolphin, tweeted, “All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys SMH…” His follow up tweet: “I’m not bashing anybody don’t have anything against anyone I just don’t understand it”
Chris Broussard contributed to the disastrous coverage ESPN provided of the announcement that the GM details below. He said, “Personally I don’t believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle or an openly premarital sex between heterosexuals. If you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, the Bible says you know them by their fruits, it says that’s a sin.”
The 2013 NFL Draft took place last week. The Mike’d UP guys break down the event and give their pick for best move.
Kowaleski: As much as I hate to say it, I have to hand it to the New York Jets here.
The Jets were (are?) a complete mess heading into the draft. With an expensive and incapable quarterback on their roster in Mark Sanchez and a high-profile media headache in Tim Tebow, New York Green was without a signal caller and too broke to afford one in the first round. They took defensive players in the first round, cheaper and less sexy alternatives that also filled holes in their roster.
But they had their cake and ate it too. With such a weakly-regarded class of QB’s in this year draft, the Jets watched the Bills take the overrated E.J. Manuel in the first round (classic Buffalo) and kept an eye on West Virginia’s Geno Smith as he fell…and fell…and fell. He lasted until their second-round pick arrived.
Rex Ryan and Co. snatched him up. They’ll be able to pay him less than if he was a first-rounder, and although I still believe Ryan Nassib will be a better player (if he gets off of New York Blue’s bench), I think Smith has higher upside. He’s certainly a better pick than Manuel, and his value in the second round was off the charts.
The J-E-T-S may have finally selected their first potential franchise-caliber quarterback since Chad Pennington (the most accurate passer ever).
Kelley: I loved St. Louis moving up to the eighth spot to select Tavon Austin from West Virginia. It was a great for both sides involved. The Rams received an electric player with a tremendous upside while the Bills ensured the Jets would not select Austin and be forced to defend him twice a year.
Then, St. Louis traded the 22nd pick to the Atlanta Falcons and moved down to the 30th pick, where they picked Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree. It was a very productive first round for the Rams, who now have two immediate impact players.
While I have the space to do so, I will name some other picks I particularly liked. Matt Elam to the Ravens is one. Elam will fit right in with the hard-hitting physical style defense the Ravens pride themselves on. I need to stop talking about the Ravens immediately because it is making me sick.
I loved San Francisco selecting Marcus Lattimore in the fourth round. Having suffered two serious knee injuries thus far, Lattimore is a risk, but one worth taking due to his immense talent. The 49ers can put him on the PUP list and reexamine him later in the season.
