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Health & Fitness

NBA's Collins' announcement has special meaning for Gay Games sports director

I am a 53-year-old amateur athlete. And I'm gay. That's my appreciative nod to NBA's Jason Collins, the first openly gay athlete for a major U.S. men's professional sports team..

"I am a 53-year-old amateur basketball player. I am white. And I'm gay."

That's how the Gay Games' Rob Smitherman describes himself today in an appreciative nod to the NBA's Jason Collins, who on April 29 came out as the first openly gay athlete for a major U.S. men’s professional sports team.

“This is huge – just the fact that there is someone who is stepping up to deal with public scrutiny and is brave enough to come out,” says Smitherman, director of sports operations for the 2014 Gay Games presented by the Cleveland Foundation. 

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“He’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated. That shows how far things are turning around for LGBT athletes in professional sports,” he says.

Smitherman played basketball in high school and college, but it wasn't until he was an adult amateur athlete that he found other gay athletes who enjoyed competing. "When I joined my first gay team, it was to compete in the 1998 Gay Games in Amsterdam," he says. "I joined thousands of LGBT participants who were united in sport. It was a life-changing experience."

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Fifteen years ago was a much different time for professional athletes -- something that Smitherman thinks has changed with Collins' announcement and other mainstream support for athletes regardless of sexual orientation.

“Athletes don’t have to fear as much repercussion these days for being open about their sexual orientation," he says. "Many people thought they would lose or not secure sponsors if they announced they were gay or lesbian, but that is changing. Nike has even been very public in announcing its support for the first openly gay or lesbian professional athletes.

“Collins doesn’t have to hide and that’s nice. He can be himself and that will probably make him a better basketball player,” Smitherman says.

A basketball player himself, Smitherman is particularly pleased. “He can play on my basketball team any time,” he says, adding he would be happy to have Collins supporting other gay athletes at the Gay Games presented by the Cleveland Foundation scheduled for August 9-16 in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.

For more information on the Gay Games, visit www.GG9CLE.com.

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