Jonathan Mahler, Columnist

Yes, Jason Collins Is Still Gay, and Yes, It's Still News

Why Jason Collins is more than just another gay young urban professional.

April 30, 2013 at 4:28 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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On Day 2, the Jason Collins story became a little more complicated.

Except maybe in the narrow mind of ESPN basketball analyst Chris Broussard -- who said that Collins is "walking in open rebellion to God" -- there aren't any value judgments to be made. What does seem worth discussing, in the wake of the flood of media coverage -- plus a mention at a presidential press conference -- is whether we are maybe giving this story a little more attention than it deserves. The answer is yes and no.