Jason Collins des Celtics de Boston: "I'm black and I'm gay"

 Jason Collins n'est pas le premier athlète professionnel à reconnaître son homosexualité, mais aucun joueur des quatre principaux sports américains ne l'avait fait. Les sportifs sont encore bien souvent des modèles pour les jeunes et comme enseignant je ne peux qu'approuver son geste. Il y a déjà quelques années que je remarque que mes élèves homosexuels semblent plus à l'aise et qu'ils assument bien leur orientation. Difficile de ne pas se réjouir de constater une évolution et d'avoir devant soi des jeunes sains et équilibrés.

 "Why am I coming out now? Well, I started thinking about this in 2011 during the NBA player lockout. I'm a creature of routine. When the regular season ends I immediately dedicate myself to getting game ready for the opener of the next campaign in the fall. But the lockout wreaked havoc on my habits and forced me to confront who I really am and what I really want. With the season delayed, I trained and worked out. But I lacked the distraction that basketball had always provided.

 The first relative I came out to was my aunt Teri, a superior court judge in San Francisco. Her reaction surprised me. "I've known you were gay for years," she said. From that moment on I was comfortable in my own skin. In her presence I ignored my censor button for the first time. She gave me support. The relief I felt was a sweet release. Imagine you're in the oven, baking. Some of us know and accept our sexuality right away and some need more time to cook. I should know -- I baked for 33 years. When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.

 I realized I needed to go public when Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told me he had just marched in Boston's 2012 Gay Pride Parade. I'm seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy. I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn't even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator. If I'd been questioned, I would have concocted half truths. What a shame to have to lie at a celebration of pride. I want to do the right thing and not hide anymore. I want to march for tolerance, acceptance and understanding. I want to take a stand and say, "Me, too."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/