Jason Collins makes waves as first active, male major sport athlete to come out as gay

A lot of people are talking about NBA player Jason Collins.

On Monday, he came out, becoming the first openly gay player in the four major American male sports leagues.

Many have spoken out in support of Collins, including former President Bill Clinton and Los Angeles Lakes star Kobe Bryant, who tweeted, “Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don’t suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others.”

Not everyone, however, has been supportive. On Monday, on the ESPN show “Outside the Lines,” sports analyst Chris Broussard criticized his public acknowledgment.

“I’m a Christian. I don’t agree with homosexuality. I think it’s a sin, as I think all sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman is,” he said.

It’s hard to know how Jason Collins is taking all the attention. And how he knew it was time to come out.

But one person who might understand is Esera Tuaolo. Back in 2002, Tuaolo became the third former NFL player to come out — two years after he’d retired, and three years after he’d made it to the Super Bowl with the Atlanta Falcons.

Tuaolo has been outspoken about his choice to come out, and his experience as a closeted gay man in the NFL, ever since.

Tuaolo said Collins’ decision to come out represents him surmounting both personal barriers, as well as professional barriers.

“Breaking down stereotypes of what a gay male should look like,” he said. “Back in the days, a gay male was that kid who used to get beat up on the playground. Or used to get harassed in schools. He’s definitely broken down some stereotypes.”

Back when he played, Tuaolo said he worried that if he’d come out, he would have made himself a target. But he said we live in a different time now.

These days, Tuaolo points out, when someone uses a slur to refer to gay people, they’re quickly called out for their bad behavior.

“It’s not right, any time you use those words, and you discriminate against another human being,” Tuaolo said. “It’s definitely not right.”

Tuaolo said much has changed in the past 10 years for LGBT individuals. There are more positive role models in the media, the public perception has changed and it has become an important political issue as well.

Now, Tuaolo hopes that Collins can be even more successful, freed from the burdens of hiding a part of who he is.

“He could play to the best of his ability. So he could be free of all of that, and play to his best potential,” Tuaolo said. “We are living in a different time now. It’s time we move forward from all of this.”