LGBTQ news and entertainment
Twins Jason and Jarron (“the straight one”) Collins bring some humor to what might be one of the year’s biggest sports and LGBT stories in a sit-down with Jimmy Kimmel.
When asked if the “coming out” experience was positive, brother Jarron jumps in to share that Jason went from 3,000 Twitter follwers to over 100K in 24 hours.
Yeah, I think folks are not having a big problem with Jason.
There. See? All good.
(via Instinct)
“When is the right time to tell someone a secret? This is my coming out story.” – by Hamish Steele
Sweet. And quite accurate portrayal for many people. My coming out to my best friends was much like this.
And then, it’s done. And life goes on.
Forward.
Ben Shapiro has a big problem with Jason Collins being called a “hero.”
Upon Jason Collins’ historic coming-out, Shapiro took to Twitter to decry the calls of heroism being lauded at the NBA center — a popular trend among straight white men who never had to come out as anything in their lives.
Piers Morgan took Shapiro to task on his CNN show for his insensitive comments, at which Shapiro accused the Piers of hating America by thinking that we’re all just a bunch of homophobes:
Answers Morgan: “I think you might be homophobic simply because you said, why is Jason Collins a hero because he’s gay? Why sneer at a guy for coming out when he’s being courageous?”
Says Shapiro: “I’m Jewish. I wear a yarmulke on TV. There’s a lot of anti-semitism… Being who you are in 2013 in America is what America is about. It is not heroic to be who you are publicly. I’m glad for Jason Collins if he feels that he’s going to live a happier life now. But it does not make you a hero to be who you are.”
I personally can’t stand the sound of Shapiro’s voice. It’s like nails on a chalk board. To think people actually listen to him on the radio and such is difficult to fathom.
UPDATE: After the segment aired, super-star movie stud Chris Evans, who has a gay brother, tweeted this:
Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal dis
Gregory Miraglia, an openly gay ex-police officer, recently joined HuffPost Live to chat about why he kept his sexuality a secret for over two decades while on the force.
Miraglia founded Coming Out From Behind The Badge, an organization as well as a set of books that offer advice on how to cope with the course of coming out in career industries such as police departments and fire departments.
“I learned the first hour that I walked in the door of the police department that you could not be out and gay, working in law enforcement and be successful,” he said, while explaining his personal journey. “So I just kept it very quiet and very hidden.”
Robbie Rogers, pro soccer player who retired and came “out” last February looks like he’s testing the waters in terms of a return to the “beautiful game” by currently training with the LA Galaxy.
Perhaps with the huge support Jason is seeing, Rogers may be rethinking the retirement thing.
Regarding Jason Collins’ recent coming out, Robbie said:
“I think I was surprised like everyone else. Obviously, I know what it is like going through being gay and being a professional athlete and being closeted and all the emotions and all the thoughts that go through your mind. I don’t know him, but I was very happy and proud for him.
“But most of all, I was happy that our society gave him such a positive response including athletes from all over the world on Twitter. Society is really changing, people are moving along and accepting gay athletes and I think more athletes will follow in his footsteps.
“We will see what happens, but it is definitely a positive step. You can’t just say to someone, ‘Come out, come out,’ it really depends on them.”
Charles Barkley speaks out in support of Jason Collins coming out
NBA player Jason Collins talks to Good Morning America‘s George Stephanopoulos about his “coming out,” his aggressive style of play, the support he’s received and why he chose to wear number 98 this past season.
President Obama called NBA center Jason Collins today after news broke that the pro basketball player had come out of the closet.
From Raw Story:
President Barack Obama called NBA player Jason Collins on Monday to praise his courage after he became the first star in big-time American professional team sports to come out as gay.
Collins, currently a free agent who has played for six teams over 12 seasons, made the announcement in a blockbuster article in Sports Illustrated. “The President called Jason Collins to express his support and said he was impressed by his courage,” said a White House aide, on condition of anonymity.
