After years of waiting and months of speculation, the very first active professional athlete in a major sports league has finally come out.

Jason Collins, a centre for the Washington Wizards, has officially come out to Sports Illustrated, making him not only the first openly gay player in the NBA, but on any major-league sports team in North America.

I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, "I'm different." If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.

My journey of self-discovery and self-acknowledgement began in my hometown of Los Angeles and has taken me through two state high school championships, the NCAA Final Four and the Elite Eight, and nine playoffs in 12 NBA seasons.

Considering how incredibly closeted the professional sports world is, and how close-minded certain athletes can be, this was a huge step for Collins to step forward and represent for gay people in sports. So a huge congratulations to Jason for his bravery and for taking the first step when no one else would. 

Muddy York, Toronto's premier gay rugby team, is currently raising money to compete in the Bingham Cup in Sydney, Australia. The Bingham Cup is basically the largest gay rugby tournament in the world, and with the help of the community, Muddy York can fly down for their chance at the cup.

[IMG SOURCE: Badtennis.wordpress.com] 

Below is the fundraising video they made, which features plenty of beefy men slamming against each other, and you've stopped reading this and skipped straight to the video, haven't you? No, I don't blame you. That's some grade-A beef. I'm not even sure why I'm still typing this. Hurgedy blurgerdy blort. See? You probably didn't even notice that.

Anyway, if you're feeling philanthropic, you can kick in a couple bucks to help them out by going to their website and donating through PayPal. 

Have you ever watched someone set up a super intricate domino pattern, and the entire time you were just waiting to see when they would finally start falling into place? That's kinda how it is right now to watch the LGBT movement in professional sports.

Over the past few years, athletes, coaches and fans have been laying the groundwork for the first openly gay pro athlete. And with the recent rumour of a closeted NFL player readying himself to come out, the Bleacher Report has announced that now is perhaps the best time for an athlete to do so.

Please, if you think the time is right to come out, do it. There are more people than ever willing to accept, defend and celebrate you. It's time for sports to catch up to the rest of society.

I'm not naive enough to think there isn't homophobia in the NFL—with fans and within the locker room—but there is also tolerance.

I can't pretend to know what the gay player referenced in the CBS report is going through. Announcing your homosexuality is a bell that cannot be un-rung, so this advice does not come flippantly.

But it's time.

If we are to the point where national writers like Freeman are talking to current players about their gay teammates, we are closer to that day than ever before.

So, to whoever is contemplating this announcement, go ahead and jump. There are enough of us here to catch you, and we promise to hold you up for as long as you need.  

Admittedly, there's still a lot of homophobia in the locker room, but at this point, there needs to be some sort of catalyst here. Someone has to be the person to knock over the first domino and actually begin what others have laid the groundwork for.

In a sport as glaringly driven by machismo as boxing, some wouldn't expect a fighter to come out as openly gay, nor would they expect someone to celebrate it openly. However, they would be severely underestimating the amount of ass Orlando Cruz can kick at any given moment.

In a featherweight bout with Aalan Martinez, Orlando Cruz came out in a boxing kilt (side note: anyone else appreciate a fine-looking man in a kilt? Anyone?) designed to look like the gay pride flag, and then proceeded to win by knockout. 

After the fight he thanked a number of people including his trainers, his friends and "his LGBT community."  He also got emotional when mentioning his grandmother - who passed away last year - and dedicated the victory to her.

During the fight he wore a multicolor boxing kilt with Puerto Rican flags on both sides. One of the flags was red, white and blue, the other flag's stripes reflected the color of the rainbow as a sign of gay pride. [SOURCE]

So let's recap here: Orlando Cruz is a ripped, Latino, professional fighter who wears rainbow kilts and kicks tons of ass? There's a term for this, I know there is . . . Ah, yes: *Sploosh*

[IMG CREDIT: advocate.com] 

After both the NFL and the NHL had a banner year for supporting openly gay athletes, the NBA is finally catching up like . . . aw fuck, I just remembered I know nothing about sports and I can't make an analogy. Goddammit.

Well, whatever. NBA star Kenneth Faried, who plays for the Denver Nuggets, recently made a video in support of his two mothers, as well as equality for all LGBT families. When you consider the fact that thus far, the NBA still hasn't really ever addressed the queer community or acknowledged those of us who are either fans or players -- to my knowledge, the only out NBA players are those who have long since retired -- seeing someone finally come out against homophobia is a pretty big step for the league.