American Heroes

Jason Collins

John Amaechi. Jason Collins. Michael Sam.

If you listen to sports talk radio or watch sports news programs you have probably heard these names quite a bit in the last 24 hours. In 2007, John Amaechi was the first professional basketball player to come out as a gay man. Last year, Jason Collins came out as the first active professional athlete to admit to being gay. And now Michael Sam, a defensive lineman from the University of Missouri and highly rated 2014 NFL draft prospect, has publicly professed that he is gay as well. This could potentially make him the first openly gay player in the NFL.

There are three things very concerning here:

First: Does anyone else find it strange that there is such mass celebration surrounding public professions of gay athletes? I have worked alongside plenty of gay people in my lifetime and would have no problem doing so once again in the future. Homosexuals are not freaks. They are not weirdos, and quite frankly there aren't many people beyond middle school age who make fun of them.

Given all of that, however, homosexuality is not a skin color and it is not a gender. Homosexuality is not something that has to be out in the open and I have trouble understanding the need for our society to put it there. Last year, a caller spoke on one of ESPN's radio programs comparing Jason Collins' situation to that of Jackie Robinson. I dropped my burrito and almost ran a red light.

Here's the point: who an individual decides to engage in personal relationships with is not a matter of open disclosure. There is no gay stamp plastered on anyone's forehead, nor does there need to be. Therefore, I am failing to see the grand courageous action that these men have made other than draw unnecessary attention to themselves in a team sport.

Michael Sam

I don't understand why these men are being treated with the same kind of admiration we hold for Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, or Frederick Douglass, as if they took some major leap of faith. In my opinion, it's quite an unnecessary leap. And if you really want my opinion, it's not a leap at all. In today's society, the admission of homosexuality will certainly be met with publicity, reverence, and preferential treatment. If you are gay in America and you talk about it, you are a hero. In fact, anyone who says otherwise is met with threats of job termination and censorship (Chris Broussard) or indefinite suspensions and media scrutiny (Duck Dynasty).

Second: In the case of Amaechi as well as in the case of Michael Sam, both men claim that their teammates knew of their sexual orientation and were nothing but supportive. One could make an argument for the necessity of a team knowing when one or more of it's members are gay. They work, sweat, strive, and battle for a common goal, sharing countless hours alongside one another and, as a coach, I can honestly say that teams who bond closely outside of practice tend to perform better overall. Therefore, if the team already knows and is supportive, why does the rest of the world need to know?

I can't speculate because I honestly don't know the answer, but it's difficult to follow the logic here: Athlete #1 is gay. Athlete #1's team learns of his sexual orientation. The team is supportive and protective; therefore, Athlete #1 announces to the world his sexual preference. Huh? For the life of me I can't see the relevance... it simply does not matter.

I can understand if a gay athlete experiences persecution from his peers. At that point there may be a need to make the situation public, but let's be real - that is not the America in which we live. Homosexuals are not persecuted and haven't been for years. I don't know anyone... anyone who just can't stand to be around gay people. And I work in a Christian school and a Presbyterian (PCA) church. The homo-hating bigot is just not a reality in large enough numbers to really talk about. It is a ridiculous caricature against which the media has set these men up as if they have overcome some great opposition. Time to point out that the emperor is not wearing clothes.

John Amaechi

Third (last point): Speaking of ridiculous caricatures, the popular perception of Christians in regard to this issue is absurd. I listened to former Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez wax eloquent on the radio yesterday about "outdated" religious beliefs and the need for everyone to "progress" or get left behind. Shorty after, ESPN's Colin Cowherd created a ridiculous hypothetical that insinuated a Christian couldn't stomach being piloted on an aircraft by an atheist captain. In addition to that, I have heard plenty of comparisons to religious groups that were anti-women's rights or anti-racial equality. It's almost as if mainstream America would like everyone to think that Christians are like the Catholic church in the 15th and 16th century banging their fists against the wall in a stubborn commitment to the geocentrism of the universe.

Trying to get America to believe that Christians can't stand, be around, work alongside, or maintain friendships with homosexuals is ridiculous and dishonest.

The entire premise of Christianity is that we are all sinners in need of God's grace. That puts every single individual on this planet on the same playing field, leaving only two distinctions in all of humanity: either you have been rescued by the grace of Jesus Christ, or you have not. Neither group is inherently better than the other. Christians are Christians based on the merit of Jesus's perfection, certainly not our own.

Therefore, when we speak out against gay marriage and things of that nature it isn't in opposition to or hatred of those individuals - it is in opposition to the promotion of sinful ideas of any kind. The duty of the Christian is simply to point out danger in the water and lead people to a loving relationship with Jesus instead. Homosexuality is danger in the water (yes, that means Amaechi, Sam, and Collins are sinners - so am I and so are you) as is fornication, lying, stealing, cheating, hatred, idolatry, greed, gluttony, pride, lust, and the list goes on.

Every Bible-believing Christian on the planet can point out multiple sins with which they struggle, causing them all the more to lean on grace alone for salvation. So let's get rid of this nonsensical and completely untrue idea that Christians are on a witch hunt against the gay population. I have a job, a family, and a heart captivated by Jesus; I don't have the time nor the desire to be on a witch hunt against anything. What I do have time for is to be truthful about what offends the one, true God, as outlined in his Word, and extend the loving arms of Christ toward all who don't know him.

I'll conclude by saying that my hope is not that athletes would stop being gay. My hope is that America would stop elevating sin of any kind and those who promote it to the level of modern day heroes. My hope is that America would be honest with their own sins as a real problem with God (not Christians). And my hope is that America would turn to Christ, be healed, and enter into eternal life.