But no such discussion is being had about Collins. He’s your typical journeyman seven-footer. (As typical as being seven feet can be!) He’s probably not achieved all that some thought he would, though he has carved out a nice career for himself in the league.
Gay or straight, that career is coming to a close. He’s not ineffective for his role, but you know exactly what you are getting from him. He is approaching the stage of his career where teams are going to want to go with a younger player who currently may offer a little less than Collins, but in the future could offer more. He may legitimately never play another NBA game again. And if he does, it won’t be for more than a year or two. We’re not talking about Collins because of his talent, his upside, his potential or even because of his accomplishments achieved on the court.
We’re only talking about Collins because he is gay.
And here’s where society finds herself boxed in right under the basket.
If homosexuality really is the next great civil rights frontier, why are we willing to label the guy by his sexual orientation? Just like it’s ludicrous to make a fuss about Doug Williams or RGIII being a “black quarterback,” isn’t it demeaning to label Collins as a “gay center?” If society has really advanced as some would claim that it has, shouldn’t the off the court decisions of an average NBA player on a well below average NBA team be a non-story?
By touting his homosexuality as a big deal, isn’t that contradicting the idea that his homosexuality should be no big deal to us? It seems contradictory … especially if you claim it is not his choice.
But what if society wants to go the other way? What if we say, “After years of struggle and fighting against it, Collins finally made the decision to be gay and to quit hiding it.” Can we really follow that such a decision is his business alone and should not follow into the locker room?
When your average philandering athlete gets in trouble (either from his wife, the law or other wives!), our society has no problem talking about how that affects team chemistry. Shoot, when Tim Tebow lets it be known he’s not going to have sex with anyone (until marriage), people even talk about that affecting team chemistry.
Why does this one suddenly become nobody’s concern and nobody’s business? Doesn’t such a call to “not judge” and not “let this effect team chemistry” mean we are actually treating it different than heterosexual sex?
It seems to me that morality and values are rubbing up against each other in our society. Values of the Bible and values of the world are both jockeying for position. To some, it may seem like the world just gained some serious ground. Our temptation may be to fight and claw and try to push our way back on this one. But I don’t think we need to. If you look closely, I think they’ve just moved themselves right out of the play.
May you and I take advantage of the opportunity to explain that ethnicity, career or sexual preference should not be what makes our identity. May we come alongside others and point out that we all clamor for the wrong identifiers. And then, may we proclaim the liberty that can only be found by being named as “in Christ!”
