From the OC Register:
NBA center Jason Collins’ revelation Monday that he is gay — marking the first time an active athlete in any of America’s four major sports has made such a proclamation. …“The news excited many who have seen same-sex marriage and other developments favorable to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community garner wider support”. Catherine Bolzendahl, associate professor of sociology at UC Irvine, said Collins coming out marks a major step in a series of steps that has resulted in growing social acceptance for people to be openly gay. Bolzendahl, …said it’s the cumulative effect of more people knowing a person who is gay, the recent moves toward legalizing same-sex marriage in some states, and even the Boy Scouts of America poised to advocate a non-discrimination policy among youth seeking admittance into the organization. What Collins has done, she said, is put a big crack in the wall of professional sports and the perception of the players by school-age children. “We do know in a general sense these sports figures — especially for young boys — are looked up to and they can be role models,” she said. “My intuition would be in terms of the impact that this is normal and something you can be — a successful basketball player and be gay.”

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