Free Republic

President Obama called NBA player Jason Collins Monday to offer his support after Collins announced he's gay, becoming the first openly gay major league professional athlete, CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett has learned. The president offered congratulations and support on Collins' courage and willingness to be the first in the four dominant pro sports to make this announcement. First lady Michelle Obama also showed her support for Collins on Twitter Monday. "So proud of you, Jason Collins! This is a huge step forward for our country. We've got your back!" she tweeted, signing it "-mo," which indicates...

It’s the Monday after the NFL draft and the NBA playoffs are in full swing. But today, Jason Collins, a journeyman basketball payer who averaged just over 1 point per game in the past season, is the leading sports story. The reason is that Collins declared himself the first openly gay male athlete in a major American team sport. The announcement garnered an outpouring of support, as admirers praised Collins for being willing to come out as gay in a field in which homosexuality has been particularly stigmatized. Others didn’t think Collins' announcement should be much of a story. I...

Two sports stories made headlines yesterday: The New York Jets released openly Christian quarterback Tim Tebow, and NBA player Jason Collins came out of the closet, making him the first active, openly gay professional athlete in the four major U.S. sports (basketball, football, baseball and hockey). It's not surprising to hear of Tebow's release; he rarely played for the Jets, was seldom used at all, and ended up being their third-string quarterback. I'm certainly no sports analyst, but it seems to me that he really wasn't given much of a chance in New York, especially considering that starting quarterback Mark...

Two weeks ago we were writing about a terrorist attack, today we’re writing about gay basketball players. A blogger’s life for me, my friends.Easy prediction: 75 percent of the public will be casually supportive or casually disapproving but either way almost entirely indifferent. Fifteen percent, including lots of pols, celebrities, and the media, will support him enthusiastically. The other 10 percent will hassle him on the court or from the stands either because they dislike gays or just to spite the 15 percent of “opinion leaders” on the other side. Collins will get a standing O at his first home...