the next guy
Superstar
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...ldn-t-you-want-all-challenges--184731235.html
On Feb. 23, the Brooklyn Nets signed center Jason Collins to a 10-day contract. Collins was lucky to be in the league even the season before, but with the relatively wispy and aging Kevin Garnett forced into duty at center and Brook Lopez out for the season, Brooklyn badly needed a defensive stalwart up front.
The transaction resulted in a large news conference in the Staples Center media area, as the Nets were playing the Los Angeles Lakers later that night. Collins would be the first openly gay player in NBA history, and he dutifully and intelligently discussed that significant moment in the face of media contingents from the two largest media markets in the NBA. It meant a lot to millions, and it will mean a lot to millions more who will badly need role models as they come to terms with being born a certain way. When I wrote my column discussing the transaction, I cried. When I watched a clip of Jason Collins entering that night’s game later that evening, I cried.
And then, I forgot. And Jason Collins went back to being Jason Collins, the dude who moves his feet and defends the rim. And nobody even really noticed when the Nets and Collins ended what was a historic season in the second round of the playoffs down in Miami.
On Feb. 23, the Brooklyn Nets signed center Jason Collins to a 10-day contract. Collins was lucky to be in the league even the season before, but with the relatively wispy and aging Kevin Garnett forced into duty at center and Brook Lopez out for the season, Brooklyn badly needed a defensive stalwart up front.
The transaction resulted in a large news conference in the Staples Center media area, as the Nets were playing the Los Angeles Lakers later that night. Collins would be the first openly gay player in NBA history, and he dutifully and intelligently discussed that significant moment in the face of media contingents from the two largest media markets in the NBA. It meant a lot to millions, and it will mean a lot to millions more who will badly need role models as they come to terms with being born a certain way. When I wrote my column discussing the transaction, I cried. When I watched a clip of Jason Collins entering that night’s game later that evening, I cried.
And then, I forgot. And Jason Collins went back to being Jason Collins, the dude who moves his feet and defends the rim. And nobody even really noticed when the Nets and Collins ended what was a historic season in the second round of the playoffs down in Miami.
