People have long speculated that an openly gay player like Jason Collins wouldn't be welcome in an NBA locker room. That he would somehow destroy team dynamics. Most people who have this fantasy about locker rooms--that they are these places of staunch machismo--haven't spent much time in them.
The reality is that a locker room is a workplace. For people who work in sports--athletes, coaches, trainers--it's no different from a cubicle, conference room or office, except for all the towels and tape strewn on the floor, and the smell. And in the same way sexual harassment is not appropriate in the workplace or the military, it's not appropriate in the locker room, either. Anybody who thinks the professional sports locker room is some sort of sexual playpen is perhaps living out his own alternative fantasy. The main concern for me and most of my teammates was getting a little privacy and being able to get showered and dressed by the time the media came in after a game. If we were really lucky, we got dressed and left and missed the media completely.
Jason is a free agent now, and the biggest impediment to his playing next season won't be his sexuality. It'll be that he's a 34-year-old with a lot of wear and tear, competing in a league where every 18-year-old Croatian who is 7 ft. tall wants a shot. But if he does get a job, he'll thrive. Jason won't cause any discomfort, because he's been around; players know him. He's a thoughtful, considerate guy who will be a mentor to younger players and is exactly the type of athlete we wish we saw on a regular basis. This new piece of information doesn't radically change him. Other players know that the most dangerous thing about Jason Collins is that he's probably going to knock your head off with his elbow if you're not careful. And that's a good thing when you're on his team.
Plus, today's players have broader minds. They're more involved in the film and music industries, in the art and fashion worlds. The overt homophobia, the talking about gay people in an incredibly derogatory way, is far less prevalent. I experienced some of that when I played. I didn't come out of the closet while I was playing in the early 2000s because I was afraid I'd lose my job. I don't think I'd feel the same way today.
I know that Jason's going to be well received. I've already gotten hundreds of messages through Facebook and Twitter from kids all over the world, saying, "I feel safer and more hopeful because of the reaction to what Jason has done." Look at all the positive responses, the support from star players like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and league commissioner David Stern.