Do you really not get that his situation is different from the 'many gays' that dont publicize their lifestyle? He is an athlete...a future pro. Because of that, his life will be more public than 'many gays'. His personal life will be on the internet. It may be thru public appearances/goodwill/charity events for a team. It may be thru pictures in magazines and online of him out on the town. It may be just on his wikipedia page- but his life is more public. And media outlets want to uncover these sort of stories. If I had something like this in my life, I would absolutely want to be the one to announce it versus have it announced for me. I would hope you would too...unless you enjoy having a story told about you but without you.
Furthermore, getting back to what I mentioned in my first post on this issue, athletes are the default role models for most boys in this country. Having an openly gay football player will both help younger kids feel more comfortable in their own skin, feel more comfortable on a team, and it will help others be more accepting.
When I was in high school I used 'retarded' to describe a ton of stuff. I used it to describe people, events, actions, a ton of stuff. I then dated a girl for two years with a younger sister and an aunt who both have Down Syndrome.
Yup, that basically got me to immediately drop that word from my vocab.
Call it developing empathy, call it maturing, call it whatever you like- personally knowing or even knowing of someone with something helps instill tolerance, understanding, and acceptance.
Inherent traits that single people out- skin color, overbite, ADHD, sexual orientation, physical deformity, mental retardation- simply shouldnt be made fun of. Compassion, tolerance, and acceptance need to be used. Having male athletes at the college and pro level with these inherent traits helps show youth athletes what is possible, what is acceptable, and how to treat others.
