Why Jason Collins' decision to come out is significant

Like the majority of Americans, I had no idea who Jason Collins was until I read his words at SportsIllustrated.com Monday.

"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay."

With those words, Collins became the first active male athlete in a major American sport (NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL) to come out.

Collins' coming out is a significant step for both straight and gay communities.

Not caring who Jason Collins is or the fact that he is gay is not the same as understanding the significances of his announcement and decision to make his personal life public.

It's significant because while there are a lot of people who claim not to care, there are a lot of people who do care. There are gay athletes in sports at every level who hide who they are to themselves and their peers. There are gay athletes in sports at every level who live in fear someone might discover their secret. There are gay athletes who would rather walk away from their sport than continue to hide who they are. Those athletes now have someone to look up to, a role model that signals they can play their sport at the highest level and not hide their sexuality. Professional athletes no longer have to worry about being the first professional athlete to come out.

It's significant because of the way fellow athletes responded to Collins' announcement. The response was mostly positive, with Kobe Bryant leading the way among active players with the following tweet:

"Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU."

Other athletes also showed their support on Twitter and in interviews, to include Tony Parker, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Jason Kidd, Mike Miller, retired tennis player Andy Roddick, former NFL running back Barry Sanders and current NFL players Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Kobe Bryant is one of the best players of his generation and one of the most outspoken athletes from any sport. He's never been shy to voice his opinion and last week critiqued his own teammates over Twitter during a playoff game he sat out of due to injury. He has almost 2.5 million followers on Twitter and a much larger audience across the globe. There are very few athletes who command more respect from their peers than Kobe. On Monday Kobe took his message of support to Twitter, which was shared more than 41,000 times.

Collins no longer has to stand alone. Kobe chose to stand next to him and any NBA player who dares to speak out against Collins will feel the Black Mamba's wrath. It's sufficient because Kobe, D-Wade and other athletes showed straight athletes across the country how to support their teammates who choose to come out in the future. Kobe set the example for captains of high school basketball teams to follow: stand in support of your teammate and dare any other players to open their mouths and say something hateful. Others will follow.

It's sufficient because of the way non-athletes responded to Collins' announcement. Responses were largely supportive, including words from President Obama and former President Clinton. Few public responses were less-than-supportive and those responses were relatively mild compared to what Collins would have faced, three, five or 10 years ago from the general public. Those who made those statements were criticized, a reflection of the changing landscape of our generation's civil rights battleground. Until everyone has equal rights, until everyone is treated the same, until people are no longer judged because of whom they love, it will continue to be sufficient anytime a high profile person brings the discussion into a new arena. Monday that arena became professional sports, one of the most public and homophobic barriers left to be crossed.

Younger generations are more accepting of gays, a sure sign announcements like Collins' are going to keep coming. Studies show that people who know someone who is gay are more likely to support gay rights. The more people who come out, both as gay and allies, the less sexual orientation will matter in our society. The more people who come out, the more acceptable it becomes for others to do the same. If enough people come out, from all walks of life, there will eventually be a point where doing so is no longer significant. We're not there yet, but Jason Collins brings the country closer to that point. That significance shouldn't be ignored.