[BostonCard]

Jason Collins has had that number for a while, and had it before anyone knew of its significance. It was a quiet tribute to Sheppard for years, and has only become an open tribute because its significance is known by the public. His desire to continue wearing the number as a tribute neither supports nor refutes anyone's contention that Jason just wants to play ball.  His statements, however, suggest that he does not intend to play the "I'm gay and I'm proud" card at full volume while he can:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/...ll-support

"I'm trying to prioritize things, and basketball right now is the priority," Collins said. "Again, it's about the plays, it's about our calls and just trying to get comfortable with what it is that the Brooklyn Nets do on both ends of the court."
...
"That's kind of up to you guys, it's not up to me," he said. "With regards to the media, again, there's only so many ways you can write the story, there's only so many ways you can talk about the off-the-court stuff until the focus is basketball and how the team is doing."

I think Jason has made his point by coming out publicly and proving he can still play the game.  I think his preference would be to focus on the game, and hopefully get a longer contract through the rest of the season, but he knows it was likely he was going to be getting asked a lot of questions about this, and I suspect he is prepared to answer questions about it for as long as people are asking them.

Lastly, I'm sorry if I misinterpreted your "good grief" as questioning whether Jason's (and Sam's) decision to come out was courageous.  As to when I think the coverage should subside, I don't have a strong opinion about it.  What people announce or keep to themselves about their sexuality is their own business.  At some point, enough people will have come out that it will be a footnote and maybe a brief sentence under the heading "Personal Life" will be made under someone's wikipedia entry but hardly be considered newsworthy, and I hope that time comes sooner rather than later.  Coverage of Jason will subside soon (as he notes, there are only so many ways the press can write the story) as the news cycle moves on to something more interesting, but I certainly understand why they have focused on it so far, and am not annoyed by it the way you seemingly are.

BC

[BostonCard]

Jason Collins has had that number for a while, and had it before anyone knew of its significance. It was a quiet tribute to Sheppard for years, and has only become an open tribute because its significance is known by the public. His desire to continue wearing the number as a tribute neither supports nor refutes anyone's contention that Jason just wants to play ball.  His statements, however, suggest that he does not intend to play the "I'm gay and I'm proud" card at full volume while he can:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/...ll-support

"I'm trying to prioritize things, and basketball right now is the priority," Collins said. "Again, it's about the plays, it's about our calls and just trying to get comfortable with what it is that the Brooklyn Nets do on both ends of the court."
...
"That's kind of up to you guys, it's not up to me," he said. "With regards to the media, again, there's only so many ways you can write the story, there's only so many ways you can talk about the off-the-court stuff until the focus is basketball and how the team is doing."

I think Jason has made his point by coming out publicly and proving he can still play the game.  I think his preference would be to focus on the game, and hopefully get a longer contract through the rest of the season, but he knows it was likely he was going to be getting asked a lot of questions about this, and I suspect he is prepared to answer questions about it for as long as people are asking them.

Lastly, I'm sorry if I misinterpreted your "good grief" as questioning whether Jason's (and Sam's) decision to come out was courageous.  As to when I think the coverage should subside, I don't have a strong opinion about it.  What people announce or keep to themselves about their sexuality is their own business.  At some point, enough people will have come out that it will be a footnote and maybe a brief sentence under the heading "Personal Life" will be made under someone's wikipedia entry but hardly be considered newsworthy, and I hope that time comes sooner rather than later.  Coverage of Jason will subside soon (as he notes, there are only so many ways the press can write the story) as the news cycle moves on to something more interesting, but I certainly understand why they have focused on it so far, and am not annoyed by it the way you seemingly are.

BC