I am no better than a black man, no matter what his or my capabilities may be. And the fact that I am attracted to women does not place me any higher or lower than a homosexual man.
Not only myself, but every man on this Earth is equal to every other man.
No aspect of our lives makes this truer than sports.
Obviously, I’m not saying I could go ball on LeBron James or strike out Big Papi. I simply mean we are equal in the sense of opportunity to achieve anything.
The sports gods are all colorblind and gender neutral. They created and maintain stadiums that produce winners and losers based on levels of pure talent.
It is a shame that we still live in a world where grown men bully their own teammates because of the darkness of their skin.
It is embarrassing that gay men have to live in fear, lying to the world about who they are because it could damage their career.
When athletes openly admit to being gay, the reaction should be, “I’m glad you’re comfortable with who you are and I appreciate you letting me know. Now, since that’s irrelevant to your skills, let’s get back to practice.”
Instead, media such as ESPN blow it out of proportion, and it refuels a debate that should have been doused decades ago.
While homophobia seems to be the bigger battle these days, racism is still a lingering problem.
Though people of all colors are allowed to play, some athletes still use derogatory terms during games.
It saddens me to know adults still say such things. If they can’t be mature for their own sake, they should at least be able to do it for the sake of future generations.
We should be teaching children that in the eyes of sports, nothing matters but our actions.
Players become legends by achieving the impossible, not by being white and heterosexual.
In the end, it comes down to the fact we are all born the same, and we will all die the same.
Genesis 3:19 reads “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Whether we are legend or a forgotten name, it does not matter. There is not black or white or gay or straight. There is only dust.
And when we mix together in the wind no one can tell us apart. We will all dance together as one.
We will all be equal, just as we were from the very start.
Column by Ryan Richardson, Sports Editor