Does being Gay really matter in Sports?

In today’s age of social media, news travels quickly. Two men have stepped up to the plate and revealed their sexuality and it just so happens to be through sports. So, does being gay really matter in sports?

One, a veteran NBA basketball player, Jason Collins, told the world that he was gay last year, and the world listened but most ridiculed him. He is considered a trailblazer as was the great Hall of Fame baseball player Jackie Robinson was in 1947. This week he was the first publicly gay man to play in professional sports for the Brooklyn Nets.

Top Picture: Jason Collins Bottom Picture: Michael Sam 

Now we have an openly homosexual college football player, Michael Sam, at the NFL combine being scrutinized on every event. He was the South Eastern Conference defensive football player of the year from the University of Missouri. He chose to tell the sports world that he played college football as a gay man before the NFL Combine. We know now that the team representatives do lengthy interviews and enquire about one’s sexual preferences.

I remember last year questions were asked to upcoming NFL stars such as, do you have a girlfriend. Are you married? Do you like girls? Please tell me how this plays a role in drafting a future player and his athletic ability to succeed on a football field. So, I guess Michael Sam heard the same questions asked last year and wanted to be up front. Probably teams will shy away from him because he is homosexual, but does being homosexual really matter in sports?

It has been a big taboo in sports for a long time. A bunch of guys in the locker-room being guys and there was never a second thought a gay man was in their presence, but like all different groups in society when it is not the norm people are looked down upon and persecuted. So these athletes kept their sexuality to themselves.


In today’s society, it shouldn't matter about your race, religion, or sexual preference. Furthermore, everybody is a human being, and we shouldn't be labeled. To me, it doesn't matter, and I hope the sporting world accepts this because these men deserve a chance, and it should never be based on race, religion, or sexual preference. I applaud Michael Sam and Jason Collins for being real men and examples to young men for what they are doing. Telling the world that they are, homosexual men who love to play sports no matter what people say, and they will continue to do so!