Saturday, April 20, 2013

Griner's gay? No way

I'm trying to be patient but it's difficult. Brittney Griner came out of the closet. Actually, she did it in such a cool, nonchalant manner, "coming out of the closet" isn't the best way to put it. She was never hiding in a closet. She was out in the open, dressing the way she wanted to dress, acting the way she wanted to act, being the person she wanted to be. Griner acknowledging she was gay was about as newsworthy as revealing that she can dunk. Griner? A lesbian? No way. Gee, never saw that coming. Obviously, I don't have an issue with her speaking honestly and openly about her sexuality. I mean, the media is asking her these questions. The fact that she is an openly gay athlete is fine. The problem is, now, the media insists on making it into a bigger deal than it should be. If I read another sports columnist write about, "she's so brave" or "what an impact this is going to have" or "she's paving the way for others like her." You know what would be really cool? It would be nice if the media and everyone else would treat Griner being gay the same way she did. It is no big deal. You asked the question. She answered the question. Next question. I'm going to assume gay athletes want to be treated like any other athlete. Seeing Griner's face on every sports website and reading columns talking about her "gayness" probably does very little to convince others like her to follow her path. Griner has said her parents know and support her lifestyle. Others aren't so lucky. We have to get to a point where it's not front page news for an athlete to speak up. Griner is gay? Really? Do you think any other WNBA players are lesbians, too? That's sarcasm, folks. Let's move on from this. Did you hear, Griner came out of the closet? No, she was never in a closet. But, a lot of us still have our heads in the sand.