Jonathan Mahler, Columnist

Jason Collins: Gay, Proud and Historic

April 29, 2013 at 6:32 PM UTC

Jonathan Mahler is a sports columnist for Bloomberg View. He is the author of the best-selling "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning," the basis for the eight-part ESPN mini-series. He also wrote "The Challenge," the winner of the 2009 Scribes Book Award, and "Death Comes to Happy Valley." A longtime contributor to the New York Times Magazine and the Times Book Review, Mahler has written for numerous other publications including the Washington Post, Slate, the New Republic and New York magazine. He lives in New York.

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It was only a matter of time, and that time has arrived: In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, NBA center Jason Collins has come out as gay.

The first thing to note is that this is a historic moment. Think about how long it has taken. Dave Kopay, a former NFL running back, declared he was gay 38 years ago, when he was three years removed from his playing career. Since then, other ex-athletes in major sports have come out. And active athletes in minor sports --- such as Martina Navratilova in tennis -- have come out.