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You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

MFS62 Feb 24 2014 07:01 AM

Once again, tearing down a barrier. They signed Jason Collins, the first openly gay athlete in any major professional sports. He has NO offensive game. I once told Basketball HOF write Peter Vecsey, "If you take out dunking, I could beat Jason Collins in a game of HORSE". Peter told me, "Dunking is beyond Jason's shooting range". He is a limited player, but he provides another big man to a team that needed one. He will give them minutes, inside defense and some rebounding. I wish him well. Later

d'Kong76 Feb 24 2014 08:07 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Still say they should be the New York Nets.

Edgy MD Feb 24 2014 08:42 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

I think we have a really narrow view of defining "major" as four leading team sports in the United States.

MFS62 Feb 24 2014 09:05 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Edgy MD wrote: I think we have a really narrow view of defining "major" as four leading team sports in the United States. Does that make this any less of a milestone? Later

Edgy MD Feb 24 2014 09:18 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

I think a little, maybe, yeah. I think at least somewhat it consigns to the margins the careers of the likes of Martina Navratilova, Greg Louganis, Brian Boitano, Marcus Urban, Sheryl Swoopes, Hana Mandlikova, Stephen Rhodes, and others, and diminishes profile of the sports they participated in.

Ceetar Feb 24 2014 09:26 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Edgy MD wrote: I think a little, maybe, yeah. I think at least somewhat it consigns to the margins the careers of the likes of Martina Navratilova, Greg Louganis, Brian Boitano, Marcus Urban, Sheryl Swoopes, Hana Mandlikova, Stephen Rhodes, and others, as well as the profile of the sports they participated in. Well, I don't even know half those names. And besides Boitano (he's the one that just came out right?) I didn't know any of them were gay. Part of the impact of the milestone is that it's in a sport that's ESPN-blasted across the country in a way that's unavoidable. It's not necessarily fair to attribute 'major' to those four sports, but it's the media coverage associated with it that's the milestone here. It's not really about any issues associated with a gay player in sports, since there is no issue, it's about brow-beating the masses/bigots with the message that there are gay players in sports, always have been, and always will be. I wonder if/hope this, coupled with the NFL draftee, is the start of opening the flood gates?

Edgy MD Feb 24 2014 09:42 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Ceetar wrote: It's not necessarily fair to attribute 'major' to those four sports... Well, that's my point.

Ceetar Feb 24 2014 09:45 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Edgy MD wrote: Ceetar wrote: It's not necessarily fair to attribute 'major' to those four sports... Well, that's my point. yeah. I agree with you, and I agree with MFS that it doesn't make this less of a milestone. "4 major sports" is just the thing "old-school" people use to say "these are the sports we always talked about so these are the sports we always talk about"

Benjamin Grimm Feb 24 2014 11:48 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

I think the fact that it's a team sport as opposed to an individual sport is significant. Greg Louganis or Brian Boitano weren't part of a team clubhouse/locker room dynamic like you seen in MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL. As for Sheryl Swoopes (WNBA, right?) I think the fear and aggression are greater for (allegedly) straight men for gay men than it is with women. (That may not be exactly true, but it's the impression I get.)

metsmarathon Feb 24 2014 12:42 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

i think it's fair to say that most lunkhead dudes are 100% on board with the idea of lesbians. maybe not the bible-thumpers, but certainly the ones whose biggest fear of gays in teh locker room would be having his heterosexuality usurped by getting his man bits gazed upon by some gay dude.

Edgy MD Feb 24 2014 01:39 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

I'm sorry. I not trying to claim that gay athletes in the NBA and NFL isn't a large step in a way it isn't for many other sports. It totally is. But I'm a little uncomfortable with the idea that what happens in Euro football or rugby or tennis or auto racing isn't as as meaningful because of a tradition in how we speak about sports. People live and die with NASCAR. And it's had a gay driver (on their truck circuit, I think). Soccer fans are sometimes murderously zealous --- so sectarian and jingoist and chestbumping with heterodominance as to make NFL fans blush --- yet openly gay players have courageously taken the pitch. But, you know, fair fucks to Jason Collins. I hope it brings out the best in us.

d'Kong76 Feb 24 2014 02:00 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Hopefully, the gay athlete news will fizzle out soon. Some of the stuff written about it is ridiculous. Does anyone think that most guys in a locker room nowadays don't have a gay friend, or brother, or cousin, or neighbor and are totally fine with it? Slow sports news weeks, these late Feb days.

d'Kong76 Feb 26 2014 08:26 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

They just showed a blurb on the local news that Collins jersey is the most popular jersey being purchased on nba.com. Cha-ching!!

Centerfield Feb 27 2014 07:42 AM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Good for Jason Collins and good for Brooklyn. I think it's a cool time we are living in. Sometime down the road sports fans are going to think it's silly that generations before them cared about skin color, or religion or sexual orientation. But we were around to see that change. During my time watching sports, I've seen FernandoMania, NomoMania, the first Israeli NBA player, Linsanity, the rise of black quarterbacks, and now Collins and Sam. And whereas Jackie Robinson had to deal with abuse unimaginable now, the receptions these guys are met with are becoming warmer and warmer. I think this is great. Eventually everyone will yawn when some sportcaster mentions that player X is the first bi-sexual pregnant adopted muslim over 40 to play in the NBA. And that will be great. Because some kid in school won't have to worry about being cut from his football team for being openly gay.

MFS62 Feb 27 2014 01:54 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

d'Kong76 wrote: They just showed a blurb on the local news that Collins jersey is the most popular jersey being purchased on nba.com. Cha-ching!! Revenues from the sale of NBA merchandise are equally divided between the league and the players. Everyone will benefit. Later

Frayed Knot Feb 27 2014 02:51 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

d'Kong76 wrote: They just showed a blurb on the local news that Collins jersey is the most popular jersey being purchased on nba.com. Cha-ching!! Offering them in pink probably helped ... ba-dum-ching! (Oh no he di'int!) You Gotta' Love Brooklyn According to recent tabloid articles, Spike Lee doesn't gotta anymore. Apparently there are too many hipster doufusses these days for his taste.

dgwphotography Feb 27 2014 08:07 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

MFS62 wrote: Once again, tearing down a barrier. They signed Jason Collins, the first openly gay athlete in any major professional sports. This must be news to Glenn Burke's teammates....

Frayed Knot Feb 27 2014 08:16 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

The key word here is openly, and the implied concept is that it's being done while his career is still ongoing. Burke may or may not have been open to a few teammates and clearly is now, but this was most definitely not public knowledge during his career.

dgwphotography Feb 27 2014 08:25 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Frayed Knot wrote: The key word here is openly, and the implied concept is that it's being done while his career is still ongoing. Burke may or may not have been open to a few teammates and clearly is now, but this was most definitely not public knowledge during his career. From what I understand he was quite open about it while he was playing, and sportswriters at the time wouldn't touch it.

d'Kong76 Feb 27 2014 08:32 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Being gay in the late 70's wasn't cool yet.

Edgy MD Feb 27 2014 09:18 PM Re: You Gotta' Love Brooklyn

Go, late 70s!! [youtube:1gumdqsl]QgPUxjQOk-w[/youtube:1gumdqsl]