Understanding the Jason Collins story

When National Basketball Association player Jason Collins announced in a Sports Illustrated article this week that he is gay, media and social media around the world took notice. Twitter exploded with supportive comments from a wide range of celebrities, including former United States President Bill Clinton and current NBA stars Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant. Tennis great Martina Navratilova praised the 34-year-old centre, who becomes a free agent July 1. And U.S. President Barack Obama told a White House press conference: "He seems like a terrific young man and I told him I couldn't be prouder of him.. for I think a lot of young people out there who are gay or lesbian, who are struggling, to see a role model like that who's unafraid, I think it's a great thing." U of'T News asked Associate Professor Caroline Fusco of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education about the significance of the Collins story. A former elite athlete, Fusco is an expert on the socio-cultural aspects of sport, theories of the body and sexuality, and ethics and social justice issues in sport. Why has the decision by Jason Collins to go public with his sexual orientation garnered so much attention? - In much of male professional sport (and maybe even amateur sport) hyper-masculinity is pervasive.