The Legalization Of Gay Marriage Nationwide Ushers In New Era Of Professional Sports

Many have praised the 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage across all 50 states — the ruling will affect much more than the public sphere, it’ll affect sports moving forward as we know it.

Well that was historic.

A new ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court will legalize — effective immediately — gay marriage in all 50 states in the USA.

It’s going to change a lot here at home.

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From how religious groups respond to requests to host weddings, how families will react to hearing their relatives or loved ones coming out, we will see a much different America in the immediate future.

But it will also change the realm of sports as we know it.

Some for the better, but possibly for the worse.

And it’s not gay athletes’ fault.

It’s actually ours to a degree.

But instead of playing a big blame game, as it is often pretty easy for major media outlets to do, I want to take the approach of how teams and companies could potentially use this as an opportunity to exploit athletes for a big part of their private life.

And that’s the last thing any of us should want, regardless of where you stand on the ruling.

From the instances of the NFL with Michael Sam’s openness and the NBA’s Jason Collins, we saw just how much attention those two athletes got based just on that aspect of what they decide to do off the field — we saw the good, bad, and ugly of public opinion.

But imagine what might happen if a rush of professional athletes begin to come out — because, rest assured, they will at some point.

And then what?

Since as far as I can remember, and even before then, I can attest that who makes what team is based on how they perform on the field in front of coaches, scouts, and so on.

Nothing else.

Should that change?

That’s definitely up for debate, and will no doubt be talked about in professional media circles on radio, tv, and beyond.

But what we can’t allow ourselves to do is be wrapped up in the hype, one way or another.

What we also don’t need in the debate, though, is over-heated arguments from either side.

It’s called respect.

As the consequences, both good and bad, continue to play out following the legalization of gay marriage, those on both sides of the aisle must be sure to take a moment, put themselves in their opponents’ shoes, and learn to listen.

Because if we can’t listen to each other, how are we supposed to understand each other?

We can’t. Sorry.

Moving forward, what I want to say is that I hope we continue to analyze athletes we know and love for what they do on the field and leave their personal lives personal.

There’s a reason that not every single player on earth has their own reality show.

Out of respect for what they choose to do with their own lives, let’s remember that we can sometimes be more than spectators.

Bottom Line: With a new generation, comes new responsibilities.

We are all voices — some more than others, but all voices nonetheless.

Let our response to this new era echo for generations to come.

For better or for worse, we’re in this together.