April doesn't have to be the cruelest month.
I wondered earlier this month here at the Daily Spin when it would be that a gay top-flight ATP player comes out during his active playing days. (This is what we've seen to date, really.) We have the answer now on that at the pro level of major team sports. Two words: Jason Collins. Perhaps the best line in his essay: "Note to Shaq: My flopping has nothing to do with being gay."
Sports Illustrated broke this news, and SI's own tennis scribe, Jon Wertheim, offers today a look at outtakes from Collins's interview with the magazine. Below is a smattering of tweets on the subject—though hardly the encyclopedic version—from the Twitter-happy hands of a range of tennis legends, pros, journalists, and observers. Peppered in are notable tweets from the likes of former president Bill Clinton (yes, he's tweeting now) and more athletes and onlookers. Keep in mind important facts including that Magic Johnson's own son is gay.
[View the story "Tennis Stars & More Tweet about Jason Collins' Coming Out" on Storify]
Your Daily Spin keeper salutes Jason Collins for being honest with himself and now with the wide world of sports. The reach of his candid, eloquent statements stretches far beyond mere sport. It permeates the globe. There's simply no way around that truth, no matter what one's holdings are on the subject of homosexuality. Come what may, let's all band together now in this life. It can be a desert for particular groups of people or for individuals, or it can be verdant and life-giving. It's that simple: We're in this together.
What do you think of the responses above, and how the sporting realm and the world at large are treating Collins's disclosure?
Got a thought, a tip, or a point to make? Hit me on Twitter @jonscott9.