Brooklyn Should Net This Trailblazer

 

 National Basketball Association journeyman Jason Collins, a free agent, came out with a superbly written and personal essay for Sports Illustrated online.  His story as to how and why he decided to come out (“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay”) is appearing in the May 6 publication.

His coming out should open doors for closeted athletes everywhere and will turn him into an instant hero for gay kids.  There is no way one can overstate the significance of this development.  It is yet another seminal event in the history of gay rights.

The 12-year veteran is well-known and from all indications, he is well-liked around the NBA. Collins bounced around, playing on a half dozen teams, the last being the Washington Wizards.  At no point in his career was his average point total over 6.4 per game.  Since the 2006-2007 season, he never played more than in half the game.   And at age 34 and a marginal producer, it is questionable if another NBA team was willing to take a chance on this free agent.

Until now.

Jason Collins has thrust himself into the glare of the media spotlight—a situation that clearly would not have taken place without his disclosure.  We hear that David Stern, the NBA Commissioner, badly wants a team to sign him, if nothing else, for the betterment of the league’s image and its place in social history.

Should that transpire, the signing team would surely have to cope with the media attention and the resulting distractions.  While most of his teammates will undoubtedly embrace him, Collins would still have to deal with fans, especially in other cities.

Would he be subject to taunting, ridicule, death threats, and other forms of horrific treatment?  Not likely, but nothing would be surprising today given that a guy would unload over a 100 bullets into 6 year-old kids.  Plus there are still a large number of gay-hating people out there. 

Would he receive the broad hostile treatment Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson had to endure when he broke the color barrier in baseball back in 1947 as brilliantly portrayed in the film 42?  Probably not.  Gay rights have advanced so far, so quickly to suspect that outcome.  Racial prejudice was deep-seated then, and it included Robinson’s own teammates and Brooklyn fans.

Which team would be willing to sign Jason Collins given that his basketball skills are not in demand any longer?  It would have to be a team that can handle the distractions, at least in the short term.  It would be best if that team played in a city with a vibrant LGBT community.  I could be wrong, but I suspect the Oklahoma City Thunder would not be the first on the list.

Perhaps the Portland Trail Blazers.  It has a great LGBT community, an open-minded progressive population; heck, it even had a gay mayor.  Moreover, the name “Trail Blazers” would be a perfect moniker for Collins.

But I would hope it would be the Brooklyn Nets.  When the franchise moved from Newark, NJ to Brooklyn in 2012, I thought this was good karma.  Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Brooklyn; it would be great if Jason Collins breaks the rainbow barrier in the same borough.  Perfect symmetry.

Brooklyn possesses a growing LGBT community and no one can question the vibrancy of New York City’s overall LGBT community.  Unquestionably, any team playing in New York is battle-tested regarding the media and its hyper-scrutiny.  The Nets would endure.

One of the minority owners of the Nets but one who is most visible is rap icon Jay-Z.  Reacting to President Obama’s announced support for same sex marriage last year, Jay-Z said, “What people do in their own homes is their business, and you can choose to love whoever you love. That’s their business. It’s no different than discriminating against blacks. It's discrimination, plain and simple.”

Here’s another point.  Jason Collins began his career with the Nets.  He should end it with them as well.  Again, perfect symmetry.

Let's Not Get Carried Away

A recent wave of positive events has added momentum to the effort to defeat a near-certain referendum on the Civil Marriage Protection Act that was signed into law in March.  Not the least of which was President Obama’s offering public support for marriage for same-sex couples.  That was followed by the NAACP’s endorsement of same.  Then Colin Powell added a powerful voice to the cause.  And rapper Jay-Z also weighed in with a strong message. 

These developments are seen by the pro-equality forces as huge steps in helping to mitigate opposition within the African-American community in Maryland given that this support was expressed by well-respected, influential individuals and organizations.

Adding to this string of welcome developments was a Public Policy Poll released May 24 and commissioned by Marylanders for Marriage Equality that revealed an astonishing 20 percent margin—57 percent to 37 percent—favoring the marriage law in Maryland. 

In a memo, PPP pollster Tom Jensen notes there has been a “major shift in opinion about gay marriage among black voters [in Maryland].” Fifty-five percent of African Americans now say they would vote for the law and only 36% oppose it. These numbers have essentially flipped since PPP conducted an identical poll in March.”

Rather than viewing these numbers through rose-colored lenses, however, they should be examined with caution.  Even if the results are accurate, which would be great news, let’s not get carried away.

You may wonder, why put the damp cloth over what appears to be an outstanding and historic few weeks in the quest for marriage equality?  Simply put, we’ve been led down this primrose path before with favorable polling data and we had our hearts broken.  It behooves us to learn why.

Anybody who is associated with Marylanders for Marriage Equality and all other advocates and supporters should make the Prop 8 Report  required reading.  This in-depth analysis of the failed Prop 8 campaign in California is instructive, and it would be foolish and irresponsible to ignore the lessons provided. 

You see, in the equivalent period before the decisive voting took place in 2008, the polling numbers were similarly favorable.  The “No on 8” group (pro-marriage equality) raised  tons of money (over $43 million) and had a record-setting number of volunteers (51,000), so the playing field was level even considering the influences of the Mormon Church, the Roman Catholic Church and others pushing the “Yes on 8” vote.

So what went wrong?  Many erroneously blamed African-American voters who turned out in large numbers to vote for Barack Obama and are generally opposed to same-sex marriage..  But while that group did support Yes on 8 by a decent majority, they are not the principal reason for the disappointing failure.  In fact, African-Americans only comprise about 6 percent of California’s population.  In Maryland it’s close to 30 percent.

According to this report, a large number of people—regardless of race—who claimed they supported marriage equality in the months prior to November 2008 changed positions at the end.  In three-fourths of the cases, those who shifted were parents who have children under age 18 living at home.  The report states, “When parents hear that their kids are in danger, even if it’s a lie some of them believe it—particularly when the lie largely goes unanswered.” 

This swing from supporting marriage equality to voting for Prop 8 occurred several weeks before the election—following a series of TV ads that charged that schools would expose kids to inappropriate information about gay people.  This is the key weapon for marriage equality opponents and why they have won every state ballot measure in the past: scare families that children in school will be taught about the evils of homosexuality.   And there was a two and a half week delay in rebutting the ads by the No on 8 side—a costly tactical misstep—allowing the lies to sink in.

Accordingly, polling taken today does not necessarily presage similar results in the future.  When our highly motivated opponents use their proven tactics of lies and exaggeration—and they certainly will—people could be influenced to change their minds.  And conservative religious leaders will continue to use their pulpits to hammer away at the one “sin” (ignoring all the others) and framing marriage in biblical terms.  The current rosy picture we are witnessing today could be quickly crushed.

On the bright side, the Prop 8 campaign was waged without any national leaders like Barack Obama and Colin Powell expressing support for marriage equality. Their recent pronouncements could make a substantial difference with those voters in Maryland who are soft on the issue and are not tied to deep religious convictions.

But it’s critical that the folks at Marylanders for Marriage Equality do not fall into the same trap that wrecked other states’ efforts.  They should not interpret these positive news developments and poll results as a juggernaut of support.  They cannot afford to take their eye off the prize. 

Fundraising and a solid ground game is crucial.  And we must engage and galvanize our own community to be part of the effort.  There should be no perception that we have this in the bag.  

But equally as important, these leaders should read that Prop 8 report, learn from past mistakes, and use that to formulate a blueprint for this campaign.  As American philosopher George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Good things are happening now, but complacency can be a killer.