Embracing Diversity: Jason Collins Coming Out and What It SHOULD Mean for Wrestling

He's out, and he should be providing an example to everyone, especially in wrestling Photo Credit: ESPN.com

Jason Collins, center for the Washington Wizards in the National Basketball Association, revealed that he's gay through an interview with Sports Illustrated. Collins is the first openly gay athlete who is active in one of the major four sports leagues in the US. A handful of athletes have come out in the past after their retirement, most notably John Ameche, and several women have come out over the course of the last three decades, starting with Martina Navritilova. However, the macho stereotyping of the "major" sports world has seemingly kept men like Collins in the closet for fear of what might happen to them in locker rooms, arenas, and press boxes around the country. Brandon covered all bases about how to deal with people backlashing against this decision at With Leather. It's something that should be read by everyone, obviously, because it shows why Collins' decision to come out is truly heroic and important.

Now, what does this mean for wrestling? Well, I don't know if it will mean anything in the short term. Maybe WWE writers will include a reference to it in the script of a show this or next week. Maybe Vince McMahon will make a reference to it months down the line. I don't know. However, here's what it should mean if the owners/promoters of the major wrestling companies had any sort of moral fiber in their bodies, especially Mr. McMahon, Ms. Carter, and the folks down at Sinclair Broadcasting Group. It should be a swift kick in the ass to them. They're already lagging behind the entertainment industry, in that openly gay actors have been accepted for years now, and positive portrayals of homosexuals in their media have become normal, like they should have been all along. Now, the "sport" side of their equation is going to leave them behind, especially if Collins' announcement causes a chain reaction of closeted pro athletes to come out of their closets and free them from hiding from the supposed fear of scrutiny and retribution for their own lifestyle choices.

Mainstream wrestling's history with gay characters has been shameful at best. I mean, we're barely a decade removed from Chuck and Billy. What a fucking debacle that was, even if it was a guilty pleasure for most who watched. Of course, the standard reply to that is "It's just wrestling," as if shameful social behaviors are excused because it's just a show. If the good guys bullying bad guys is unacceptable, what makes anyone think institutional homophobia is acceptable? Again, this isn't bigotry being used as a heel trope. Name one time when there has been a homosexual babyface character who wasn't an embarrassing stereotype? Yeah, thought so.

If WWE and TNA and every other wrestling company that is behind the times in America had any sense, they would use Jason Collins as a wakeup call. They would encourage their gay employees to come out of the closet. It would be a great help to the WWE audience if Pat Patterson, if he is gay (I don't think he's confirmed it, and he's the only man who ever should), to come out publicly and set an example for other WWE employees. IF not Patterson though, then it should be someone within the company. Then once it's acknowledged outside of the stories, then we move into a territory where we can have a guy who's gay in character, but have it not really be the only part of his character.

This might be asking too much from WWE, since they haven't even come around on things like civil rights and feminism either. That's the thing about these mainstream companies. They think that because they have this reputation of catering only to rednecks, yahoos, and Red Staters that they don't have to change. However, the audience is changing, and really, so are the rednecks, yahoos, and Red Staters in some capacity. Wrestling packs 'em in in Brooklyn as much as they do Greenville, SC, and even down South, things are slowly changing. It's not enough to embrace what the old Southern stereotypes embodied anymore. WWE has to grow. It has to change. That goes double for TNA, since Taz, even before he joined Aces and Eights, was the most homophobic piece of shit behind any microphone in any company.

If anything, these attitudes help keep audiences away. Gay fans of the company have to keep their like of it at arm's length at times, and that's an awful way to conduct business. It's not 1950 anymore. More than just white, straight, Christian males like wrestling. Other wrestling companies like Chikara and ACW have made strides in trying to bring in a more diverse crowd, but it can't just come to a screeching halt on the independent level. WWE has to make the effort to embrace the most diverse crowd it can. That doesn't mean making a certain demographic of people heels or to have faces look only one way. That means having a veritable pastiche within the cast on both sides of the coin, y'know, like how it is in real life.

And one of those determining factors in that diversity is sexual orientation. Wrestling companies need not lag behind. Maybe we should expect more from our wrestling companies instead of less, because when the palette is expanded, the potential for the art that is created is much greater. But more importantly than that, no one should expect to watch a distraction, a piece of art, and feel the same kinds of societal oppression that bog them down in real life. Art should give hope and strength as much as it gives laughter and catharsis. Because wrestling is art, maybe the people purveying it ought to get with the times and provide comfort to more than just the safest part of their audience to give comfort to.