The following are some Twitter death threats given to Jason Collins, the one of the first athletes in professional sports to come out: [http://www.tmz.com/2013/05/01/jason-collins-death-threats-gay-nba/]
-- "Yous a dead f****t talkn on tv Boy."
-- "Listening to Jason Collins describe his gayness as 'beautiful' makes me wanna puke. And kill him."
-- "Jason collins comes out the closet! Kill that biiitttchhhh!!!"
-- "First jason collins say he gay.. Now he on espn w lipgloss on kill him now !!!"-- "Jason Collins should get the death penalty lol how u a 7 foot gay dude lol the west is crazy smh"
We can't underestimate the hatred visited upon LGBT people in the larger society. This may well be undoubtedly true among many of those who are sports fans.
Many of these fans value the "cult of macho" and despise the feminine that they summarily equate with gay men. These haters are also likely to have contempt for women who are in powerful positions in society, and are also likely to be xenophobic as well.
To say they are a danger to our society is a gross understatement, and I fear for the life of Jason Collins, and for all other athletes who have Collins' courage to finally be authentic and come out as the people they are.
Jason got it right when he wrote, "Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it's a good place to start. It all comes down to education." LGBTQ youth face unique challenges that can be compounded by intolerance -- even if the hurtful messages aren't directed to them personally. Too often, the fear and hate directed at aspects of who they are by adults or team members they look up to can contribute to high risk behaviors, including possibly attempting suicide.[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abbe-land/jason-collins-courage-in-_b_3193476.html]
Thanks to the Reverend Dr. Jerry Maneker:
http://christianglbtrights.blogspot.com/2013/05/jason-collins-victim-of-twitter-death.html
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| Prayers ascending for Jason Collins |
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