The retired center of the NBA Jason Collins, the first gay man to play in one of the four main leagues in North America, is finally married. His ceremony was at the end of May, a few meters from the coast of Lake Austin in Texas. He and film producer Brunson Green have basically been together since Collins made history in 2014. However, now that both are legal and married people as I will finally stop asking them “Why aren't you married?”
“You know, we are aging,” Collins, 46, told me after the wedding, “and there are advantages. When you are a married couple, especially in the case, God does not want it, something happens in a medical emergency or when we are traveling, only all these protections of being married. And if there is a decision of the Supreme Court that reverse the gay marriage and is up to the height of the states …
It has been almost a decade, on June 26, 2015, since the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guaranteed the right to same -sex marriage throughout the land. If that feels like a mother rock, I shouldn't. Remember, that was far behind when a 50 -year Supreme Court ruling guaranteed the right to abortion through the Earth. That was when Elon Musk, with an estimated net worth of $ 13.2 billion, was barely among the 100 richest people in the world. That was when few within the Birtway of Washington took seriously the possibility of a presidency of Donald Trump.
Now we have members of Congress who compare it to Jesus.
You don't say that much can change more than a decade.
However, what has not changed is Collins's unique place in the history of the NBA. The former American of Stanford, who became the starting center in the NBA finals twice, is still the only person who has been an active player while he was out.
“There are other NBA players of those who know that they are members of the LGBTQ+ community but they do not identify completely,” Collins told me. “There are those with whom I have had conversations, but they are not ready to take a step forward for any reason in 2025. Is there anything that prevents them from leaving? You know that everyone is at their own schedule … I don't have a simple answer there, but I definitely know that I am not the only one.”
The fact that we still have closed professional athletes should not surprise us given the political and cultural touch stones that sexual orientation and gender identity remain in our society. As much as we want to hurry An answer “Who cares” when A notable person comes out of the closet, the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ invoices today and In recent years In this country it tells you that many people care.
That is why everyone, like Collins and her husband, must remember that marriage is a fragile and hard right. The decision of the judges in June 2015 did not end prejudices against same -sex couples rather than love of Virginia made interracial relations a debatable point in June 1967.
As Carl Jung said, “the pendulum of the mind ranges between meaning and nonsense, not between the right and wrong.”
Legislators in at least nine states have Recently introduced measures To undermine same -sex marriage. That would include my native state of Michigan, where my husband and I got married. In fact, we celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary the same week as Collins's wedding. If our legal marriage makes it a decade it has nothing to do with the love we have for each other.
That is the tragic reality that its humanity is used for political theater and its rights to catch each electoral cycle. When Collins entered the NBA in 2001, almost 60% of Americans opposed the same -sex marriage, according to Pew Research. Today, more than 60% support it, including 44% of Republicans.
Although matrimonial equality has been the law of the earth for almost a decade, it has been constantly under assault because it is red meat in the campaign.
This conversation is not the right or wrong. As Jung said, this is between meaning and nonsense. Marrying his love for a long time, as Collins did, has all the meaning of the world. Marrying for fear of losing that right, in the United States in 2025, is understandable … and yet it makes no sense.
@Lzgranderson
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Ideas expressed in the piece
- The marriage of Jason Collins with Brunson Green reflects personal commitment and a strategic decision to ensure legal protections, particularly amid concerns about the possible reversals of the Supreme Court of matrimonial equality.[1][2].
- The 2015 decision of the Supreme Court on same -sex marriage is still vulnerable, with Collins emphasizing the importance of proactive measures to safeguard rights in a politically volatile climate[1][2].
- Despite the broad public support for matrimonial equality, legislative efforts in states such as Michigan highlight the ongoing threats for LGBTQ+rights, framing marriage as a fragile legal construction instead of an established social norm[1][2].
- The historical presentation of Collins in 2013 underlines the persistent challenges facing LGBTQ+athletes, with many still locked due to cultural and political pressures[1][2].
Different views on the subject
- Legislators in at least nine states have introduced measures to restrict or undermine same -sex marriage, arguing the rights of states to define marriage regardless of the federal precedent[1][2].
- Critics of matrimonial equality often frame the issue as a political wedge tool, taking advantage of it during the electoral cycles to mobilize conservative voters despite the majority public support[1][2].
- Some opponents combine LGBTQ+ rights with broader cultural debates, using a rhetoric that aligns postures against equality with religious or traditional values, as seen in comparisons of political figures with religious icons[1][2].
- Despite legal recognition, systemic prejudice persists, with anti-LGBTQ+ invoices that reinforce the idea that sexual orientation remains a “controversial touchstone” instead of a matter of established civil rights[1][2].
