Free Republic

(VIDEO-AT-LINK)Was Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson fired for his Christian views on gay marriage? That's what Ann Killion is asking at sfgate.com, noting that Jackson's lukewarm reaction to the coming-out of Jason Collins, last year was something of a mismatch for the Bay Area, which is the global capital of gay politics and culture. Killion writes: Everything about Jackson was under scrutiny, which includes his very public persona as a religious man. It was probably not at the top of the list, but was probably on the list.... When Jason Collins made his historic pronouncement last year that...

The Brooklyn Nets are expected to sign Jason Collins to a 10-day contract later today, according to a report from ESPN.com, which would make him the first openly gay athlete in NBA history. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com reports that Collins will meet with the Nets later today and is expected to be signed and dress for tonight’s game against the Lakers.

<p>NEW YORK (AP) Actors Jonah Hill, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristen Bell are among a batch of celebrities donning Russian-language "Love Conquers Hate" T-shirts to show support for gays in Russia alarmed by a new law banning pro-gay "propaganda."</p> <p>It's part of an initiative launched Monday by the Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay-rights group.</p>

LOS ANGELES — Since making the announcement last spring that he is a gay professional basketball player, Jason Collins has been widely praised, received much support and made many new friends. But with training camp for a new season under way, he has been waiting for a call from an N.B.A. team. Any N.B.A. team. When Collins, 34, a 7-foot center, wrote his coming-out cover story for Sports Illustrated — “my declaration,” he said — he proudly spoke of having been called a pro’s pro for his team-first, lunch-pail style. Never a star, he has nonetheless had a career spanning...

The former fiancée of NBA star Jason Collins, who in April came out as the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport, has spoken for the first time about the heartache of losing the man she loved. Carolyn Moos had been with Collins for eight years before he called off their wedding without explanation in July 2009. “I had no idea why,” the 35-year-old reveals in the latest issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. “We had planned to have children, build a family. Nearly four years later, I got my answer. My former fiancé, Jason Collins. . . announced...

If you’re a sports fan, or even if you’re not, you’ve likely heard about NBA athlete Jason Collins publicly announcing that he’s gay. Of course, gays in professional sports is hardly a revelation, but Collins has the distinction of being the first openly gay athlete who currently plays for a major American team sport. It’s making headlines everywhere, right on up to the cover of Sports Illustrated. While the media begins developing this story into the next pop culture melodrama, let’s be honest about something: gays coming out in pro sports is not that big a deal. It’ no...

The purported value of ethical relativism, the idea that there are no transcendent, binding rules for right and wrong that all humans are morally required to submit to, is that it allows us to live in peace. That is, if you have your ethics, and I have my ethics, well then there is no real need for us to fight over whose ethic wins. (So long, as, of course, our lives never actually cross.) The real value is far more sinister. We find ethical relativism appealing because we find our own guilt unappealing. Though we seek to suppress such knowledge,...

On the heels of the Jason Collins announcement, Kevin Jackson announced today that he is NOT gay. Not since Jerry Seinfeld has a public figure officially announced that they are NOT gay, so this is BIG NEWS. Asked why he is making the announcement now, Jackson commented: “Well it’s time. Since I have 4 sons, people were beginning to suspect anyway. Further I have been spotted holding hands with a woman.”Asked if he believes the announcement will change his life, Jackson opined: “Who knows how revelations like this will impact a person? But it can’t be any worse than being...

A random thought that came to me during the media feeding frenzy over Jason Collins, who is now going to be fundraising with Michelle Obama for the DNC.

On Monday, April 29, Washington Wizards center Jason Collins publicly announced that he was gay. Hours after Collins’ announcement, the career of ESPN writer Chris Broussard hung in the balance for remarks he made on Outside the Lines that were deemed a “distraction” by the network. Amid public praise for Jason Collins, Broussard, a Christian, spoiled the party with his principled commentary on the 34-year old NBA player’s announcement. The revelation, Broussard said, was met with a “mixed bag of reactions [among NBA players and coaches], just like there is throughout America.” In his Outside the Lines interview, the reporter...

Media critic Howard Kurtz used his CNN show on Sunday to point a finger at himself, apologizing for a story on gay basketball player Jason Collins that he said was riddled with errors and shouldn’t have been written in the first place. The extraordinary edition of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” contained not only his apology but also a session with two other media critics who sharply questioned Kurtz’s credibility. Kurtz wrote in The Daily Beast that Collins, the NBA center who made headlines last week by being the first active player in one of the four major U.S. pro sports leagues...

As expected, the media has crowned Jason Collins, the first openly gay NBA player, the new Jackie Robinson, and the Human Rights Campaign has called Collins a “hero for our own times.” His actions were deemed worthy of a personal phone call from President Obama, who told Collins that he “couldn’t be prouder.” Without disparaging Collins personally (I understand he had a great reputation among his teammates), here are some reasons why he is absolutely not the new Jackie Robinson. When Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, there were no black equivalents of prominent and influential gays and lesbians...

Golfer Bubba Watson said he supported Christian ESPN analyst Chris Broussard's statement that NBA player Jason Collins' announcement about being gay is open rebellion against God. At the same time, he respects "anybody that's gay" while believing that homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible. "The Bible says you're not supposed to be gay, and so I never downed Jason," Watson told Golfweek, referring to his tweet this week, which said "Thanks @Chris_Broussard for sharing your faith & the bible!! #GodIsGood." During a segment on "Outside the Lines," Broussard said Tuesday that as a Christian he does not agree...

Faithful America refused on Thursday to verify a claim that it had collected signatures from more than 20,000 Christians petitioning ESPN to suspend sports analyst Chris Broussard for what they feel are "hateful" comments towards NBA player Jason Collins who recently revealed he is gay. Collins announced in a Sports Illustrated article on Monday that he was a gay man who took his faith in Jesus Christ seriously. In a later interview on ESPN's "Outside the Lines"show, however, Broussard – who is a practicing Christian – said Collins' position was inconsistent with biblical teachings. "Personally, I don't believe that you...

PC Amok: Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, responding to pressure to change his team's name, tweeted: "In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness." Washington Redtails, anyone? The problems of poverty, unemployment, crime and failing schools having been solved, the Washington, D.C., council is considering a nonbinding resolution by David Grosso, an "independent" at-large councilman, demanding that Redskins owner Dan Snyder change the team's name to the "Redtails." This presumably would honor the Tuskegee Airmen, the black fighter pilots who wrote tales of heroism across the skies above World War II battlefields. As...

On Monday, former Washington Wizards center Jason Collins revealed to the world that he is gay, prompting a complete media meltdown. Collins appeared on Good Morning America; he made the cover of Sports Illustrated; he became the lead on Huffington Post. The president of the United States congratulated him at a press conference, and the former president of the United States congratulated him via Twitter. So did the first lady, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association and a bevy of pundits and athletes across the spectrum. Which leaves one question: What's the big deal? Tennis star Martina Navratilova, the...

With Jason Collins clearing one of big-time team sports’ last barriers to equality, it’s time to extend an olive branch to some of the other people who also came out Monday: Let’s give it up for the heterosexual religious zealots, some of whom let us know their true, authentic selves. It takes a lot of Old Testament moral certainty to have such strong conviction against a 7-foot NBA journeyman’s sexuality, especially after Collins had the guts to become the first active male athlete in a major team sport to say he’s gay — which, by the way, is so universally...

Hey, Jason Collins – brave, gay NBA player! You have nothing to worry about anymore: Big Guy phoned in his support and Lady M has got your back! How cool is that?  A “tweet” – from “mo” herself, not just one of the little people: Direct from Lady M: FBOTUS (First Beard Of The United States) Whoops! That’s not Jason: that’s Reggie at the WHCD on Saturday And Jay-Jay was able to weigh in with Big Guy’s sentiments on the subject, even though they hadn’t had a chance to discuss it yet – that’s just how tight we are with...

Today at his press conference, Barack Obama told reporters he didn’t know anything about the reported Benghazi whistle-blowers who were being threatened by the State Department. But he rushed back to the microphone to talk about the gay NBA play Jason Collins who came out of the closet yesterday....

In a special one-hour episode covering the immediate effects of Washington Wizards center Jason Collins' coming out as a gay man on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Broussard briefly started discussing his personal beliefs about homosexuality. "If you're openly living that type of lifestyle, the bible says you know them by their fruits, it says that that's a sin," said Broussard, comparing homosexuality to any other sex outside of marriage. "If you're openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, I believe that's walking in open rebellion to God and Jesus Christ." Broussard was on Outside the Lines to...