From my Weekly Article at WorldMag.com:
Jason Collins |
Jason Collins, though not a star, carries great social cachet as an NBA player. Earlier this week he became the first active player to openly come out as gay. Doing so was a brave act. Collins took a risk by declaring his homosexuality in a league full of jocks and overflowing with bravado. He might have been ostracized or even out of a job. In the days since, though, the overwhelming response from players, fans, and the media to Collins’ announcement has been supportive.
But not all responses have been positive. Chris Broussard, an ESPN reporter and analyst, had this to say on the popular Outside the Lines program:
“If you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, then the Bible says, ‘You know them by their fruits.’ It says that, you know, that’s a sin. And if you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality—adultery, fornication, premarital sex between heterosexuals—whatever it may be, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ.”
. . .
Other Christians have responded in a different manner. One spokesperson for a prominent conservative Christian organization postulated that Collins would be a problem in the locker room and NBA owners should not sign him in the future. He suggested other players would say, “I do not want some guy, some teammate in the shower eyeballin’ me. … And my wife wouldn’t want that either!”