Mark Zinno: Collins Comes Out
Zinno had national writer Dan Levy of Bleacher Report on to discuss Jason Collins' coming out as the first openly gay player for an American pro sports team. Levy shot right out of the gate saying "This story is going to resonate ... we are going to look back at this day in 10 or 20 years, and say 'that was the day that everything changed.'" The guys discussed the relevance of the story and how important this is to not only American sports, but to the country as a whole.
Zinno wanted to make sure he gave both sides their due. They spoke about Mike Wallace's tweet where he questioned why someone would be gay. Wallace pointed out he was just asking a question. Levy responded, "Not only is that guy really not smart, he's dumb!" But Wallace wasn't the only one. Levy continued, "There are people who have established careers in our industry, who went on TV, radio and Twitter and said some things that I can't believe!"
The comparison to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier was brought up. Robinson had a much harder deal according to Levy. He pointed out that Robinson could never hide his skin color, but that's the choice that Collins' made. Levy applauded Collins for his courage to do so.
One of the final points of discussion is the timing. Zinno speculated that many folks feel that the timing of it may be curious as Collins is a free agent and needs a job in the NBA. "I think it's a little cynical to say that he did this to stay in the league and that he did it as a publicity stunt ... but it may not be that far from the truth. I think we can look at it the other way and say that whether he plays again in the NBA or not, I don't think it's going to matter. I think that the next domino is going to fall," Levy said. Both men agreed that is was a historic day in American professional sports.
LISTEN TO THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:
Collins Comes Out
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