The worst insult you can give a professional athlete is to call them soft. And the stereotype out there is that gay is soft.
Interpretation
Calling a professional athlete 'soft' is a significant insult, equating weakness with being gay, which reveals societal biases.
In this quote, Jason Collins highlights the stigma surrounding both professional athletes and the LGBTQ+ community. He points out that to label an athlete as 'soft' is not just an insult to their strength and skill, but also reinforces the stereotype that being gay is synonymous with weakness. This reflects deeper societal prejudices and emphasizes the need for inclusivity and acceptance within both sports and society at large.
In practice
Use this quote in a speech about overcoming stereotypes in sports.
I would love to see an athlete live their life in an authentic way, not feel that they have to hide, not feel that they have to be afraid, or live with shame - all the other things that go with being a closeted athlete. No human being should have to walk that path. But there is that fear of stepping forward.
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.
For many young people growing up in minority communities, there is a sense that their lives are disposable. As athletes, we have a platform to let those kids know that their lives are important. That their lives matter to us.
Some people insist they've never met a gay person. But Three Degrees of Jason Collins dictates that no NBA player can claim that anymore. Pro basketball is a family. And pretty much every family I know has a brother, sister or cousin who's gay. In the brotherhood of the NBA, I just happen to be the one who's out.
My dream was to play in the NBA and live my authentic life as a proud gay man at the same time. I was able to accomplish both of those goals because of the people who have supported me throughout my life.
I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport.
I have never been what you would call just an integrationist. I know I've been called that... Integrating that bus wouldn't mean more equality. Even when there was segregation, there was plenty of integration in the South, but it was for the benefit and convenience of the white person, not us.
I watched pretty much every coming out video on YouTube that has ever been posted; I watched it in between 14 and a half and 15. Those coming out videos, and those people on YouTube, those brave, brave, brave people on YouTube, without them, I don't know where I'd be.
Sometimes people don't want to be empowered because they are afraid of being the person to make the decisions.
My skin is soft, but my heart is cruel, and my bite is deadly.
I was undeterred by the danger of traveling as a single American woman through Taliban-governed land. I believed in the stories I wanted to tell, the stories I felt were underreported, and I was convinced that that belief would keep me alive.
There are people of conscience all over the world, famous leaders, as well as unsung heroes and 'sheroes,' who are carrying forward the nonviolent movement for freedom and human rights.
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