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VIDEO: NV Sen. Kelvin Atkinson and John Amaechi on MSNBC

MSNBC's Up with Steve Kornacki hosted a great panel on Saturday to discuss Jason Collins' coming out. The panel included Washington Post columnist Mary Curtis, the newly out Nevada State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson and John Amaechi, who was the first former NBA player to come out as gay in 2007. The panel discussed the future of LGBT in sports, as well as the role of Christianity in the locker rooms and on the playing fields.

"Jason Collins isn't the distraction," said Amaechi. "I've sat in locker rooms with players who told me [the Bible] says homosexuality is disgusting. But yet they told me about the two women they slept with the night before who were not their wives. I'm interested in consistency of conviction. To Chris Broussard and others, where was your outrage at the players who beat up their partners?"

"I've heard that often the past two weeks," added Atkinson. "Why do some folks choose one 'sin' to focus on? There are so many othe things happening. Why do they choose one 'sin' to demonize people? Let people live their lives."

On April 22, Nevada State Sen. Kelvin Atkinson publicly revealed that he was gay as the senate voted to repeal the same-sex marriage ban from the state constitution. The North Las Vegas Democrat became the state senate's second out Black lawmaker. Patricia Spearman—a Black openly lesbian minister—defeated a powerful two-term incumbent senator in the 2012 Democratic primary.

Watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...

 

Former NFL Player LeRoy Butler Provides Details on Anti-Gay Pastor

Former Green Bay Packer LeRoy Butler revealed that he was fired from a church speaking engagement because he tweeted a congratulatory message to openly gay NBA player Jason Collins.

Butler spoke with Outsports about the incident. "That pastor was talking to me like I was the devil," said Butler. "Sometimes religious people think they’re better than everybody else and that bothers me."

"He started giving me all these scriptures about God looking down on gay people. I said, ‘Look, if you want to believe that, this is me coming to tell my story to these kids.' There’s only one thing my mom told me. Only God judges, not you. You can pick and choose what you want from the Bible but don’t tell me about it."

"It really bothered me that he was quoting all of these scriptures to make me feel bad. I said, ‘No, I stand as a man for the little kids who are hiding somewhere and need someone to speak for them.’ I went to church every Sunday growing up. And I love everybody. We may agree to disagree, and the church says one thing, and we can agree to disagree. But man, that pastor was talking to me like I was the devil."

On his willingness to play with a gay teammate:

"NFL players have told me they won’t play with a gay player. But if the top quarterback of the next 10 years comes out in his prime, you’re gonna accept it because he can throw for 4,500 yards and take you to the Super Bowl. If he can’t play, that’s one thing. But if he can play, you don’t care."

LeRoy Butler said that he was scheduled to give an "anti-bullying presentation" to the church. Butler will not identify the church or pastor but the noted the irony to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "If you ask for forgiveness and remove the tweet and you say something to the effect that you don't congratulate (Collins) then we'll let you do the engagement and get the speaker's fee," the anti-gay pastor told him.

Delete the tweet, ask for forgiveness, condemn the gay guy ... and then you can get paid, my brotha! Hallelujah!

LeRoy Butler played his entire 11-season NFL career with the Green Bay Packers from 1990–2001. He was four times All-Pro, four times Pro Bowl and was a key player on the Packers' Super Bowl XXXI championship.

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VIDEO: Charles Barkley and Shaq Interview Jason Collins

Jason Collins continues to impress. Collins was featured on Inside the NBA on Tuesday to discuss his historic coming. One of the first questions was from NBA legend Charles Barkley, who asked Collins how his twin brother Jarron reacted to the news.

"It was an interesting conversation because he had no idea [that] I was gay,"laughed Collins. "He was shocked and surprised. But at the end of the day he said, "Jason, you are my twin brother We are best friends. I love you and will support you."

Barkley has long supported gay rights and came out for equal marriage almost seven years ago in 2006. More in my analysis for EBONY, "Jason Collins Has “Reframed the Conversation” Around Sports, Blacks and Homophobia."

Shaquille O'Neal also joined the conversation and asked Collins about the impact of his decision on other sports. O'Neal and Dwyane Wade were among the first athletes to welcome former NBA player John Amaechi's coming out in 2007. Watch the video AFTER THE JUMP ...

Church Cancels Former NFL Player's Speech After Support for Collins

Former Green Bay Packers All-Pro safety LeRoy Butler tweeted his congratulations to NBA player Jason Collins for publicly revealing that he is gay. And now: A Wisconsin church has cancelled Butler's paid speaking appearance.

Butler was scheduled to give an "anti-bullying presentation" and notes the irony to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Butler was told by church officials that they would cancel the presentation unless he removed the tweet, apologized and asked God's forgiveness. "This is what bothers me the most. They said, 'If you ask for forgiveness and remove the tweet and you say something to the effect that you don't congratulate (Collins) then we'll let you do the engagement and get the speaker's fee, and I said I'm not doing that," Butler said Wednesday.

"This is a man's personal story. I've always been on the record saying if there was a gay person in the Packer locker room, I would have played with them. All I care about is if you can run and jump, and can you win Super Bowls," Butler said.

Butler says the speaking fee was $8500 and that local sponsors "usually help the church raise money to cover his fee."

LeRoy Butler played his entire 11-season NFL career with the Green Bay Packers from 1990–2001. He was four times All-Pro, four times Pro Bowl and was a key player on the Packers' Super Bowl XXXI championship.

"Delete the tweet, ask for forgiveness, condemn the gay ball player .. and we give you the money!" Something tells me that is not very WWJD.

Jason Collins Has “Reframed the Conversation” Around Sports, Blacks and Homophobia

John Amaechi, who was the first former NBA player to come out as gay, told me the he was not surprised the first out, active male player would be from the NBA. "I expect that the next three or four" professional sports players to come out could also be Black players, Amaechi told EBONY.

My latest for EBONY: "Jason Collins Has “Reframed the Conversation” Around Sports, Blacks and Homophobia."

Jason Collins has demonstrated that you can “be Black, gay, out and play professional sports,” former NFL player Wade Davis told EBONY. Davis played for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins and came out after retirement. “Now people need to reframe the conversation around African-Americans and homophobia. Jason Collins said that he is a Black, gay man. Many other players who have supported him, such as Kobe [Bryant] and Dwayne [Wade] are also Black.

Read it HERE.

John Amaechi, Wade Davis, Darnell Moore and Will Sheridan spoke with me for the article. Davis and Sheridan discussed the landscape for professional Black gay athletes with me for the critically-acclaimed 2012 anthology For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Not Enough. The book was edited by television commentator Keith Boykin.

NBA's Jason Collins Comes Out: "I'm Black and I'm Gay"

Washington Wizards' center and 12-year NBA veteran Jason Collins comes out and makes history. Collins has become not only the first openly gay player in the NBA ... but he is now the first and only active openly gay male player in professional sports. Collins makes the announcement in the May 6, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated.

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. 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.

I've played for six pro teams and have appeared in two NBA Finals. Ever heard of a parlor game called Three Degrees of Jason Collins? If you're in the league, and I haven't been your teammate, I surely have been one of your teammates' teammates. Or one of your teammates' teammates' teammates.

Now I'm a free agent, literally and figuratively. I've reached that enviable state in life in which I can do pretty much what I want. And what I want is to continue to play basketball. I still love the game, and I still have something to offer. My coaches and teammates recognize that. At the same time, I want to be genuine and authentic and truthful.

Kobe Bryant of the Lakers' immediately tweeted his support: "Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others."

The Wizards faced the Celtics earlier this month in Boston. Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers praised his former player as "literally is one of the best guys I’ve ever had in the locker room, player or coach."

In 2007, former Utah Jazz player John Amaechi published an autobiography, Man in the Middle, which became a New York Times bestseller. In the memoir, the former NBA player came out of the closet and became the first former NBA player to come out as gay. Ameachi became a media sensation—as well as the target for ugly homophobic rants and jokes.  Amaechi was awarded the Officer of Order of the British Empire in 2011.

When Amaechi came out in 2007, Dwyane Wade and Shaq O'Neal said they looked forward to playing with a gay teammate.

SI's columnist Jon Wertheim notes:

At some point the idea of having no openly gay athletes in a league might sound as unimaginable as a ball field segregated by race. But today Collins becomes the first active male athlete in a major U.S. team sport to come out of the closet. Yes, that's a lot of qualifiers. Yes, it may be an artificial construct. But it is a milestone. Tens of thousands of men have played in the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball. Until today none had expressed his homosexuality before retirement.

The seven-foot 34-years-old Collins was born in Los Angeles and attended Stanford with his twin brother. Collins has been to the playoffs in nine of his 12 seasons. He has played for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and is now positioned at center for the Washington Wizards.

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Sheryl Swoopes is Loyola Chicago's Women's Basketball Coach

One of the top players in women’s basketball history has been named the new coach at Loyola University of Chicago. Sheryl Swoopes' appointment was announced on Friday, reports ESPN.

A three-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time WNBA champion, Swoopes stopped playing in 2011, and spent the past season as a TV analyst for Texas Tech women's games.

"I am extremely honored and humbled to be chosen to lead the Loyola University Chicago women's basketball program," Swoopes said in a statement. "Loyola is a special place and I immediately felt welcome here. Having played for some of the game's best coaches as well as with and against some of the most talented players in women's basketball history, I have broadened my knowledge and hope to use those experiences to bring championships to Rogers Park. There is a lot of talent already in place and I cannot wait to get into the gym and get started."

Swoopes publicly came out as lesbian in 2005 ... but there has been some ambiguity since then, adds Windy City Times.

Swoopes, in 2011, announced she was engaged to a man, an announcement that surprised some as she had come out in 2005 and was in a lesbian relationship with then-partner Alisa Scott. Swoopes was married from 1995-1999 and has a son. In 2008, Swoopes appeared on Shirts & Skins, a reality TV show, and she mentored the San Francisco Rockdogs, a gay basketball team.

When Swoopes made her 2005 announcement, she caused some controversy by saying, "Do I think I was born this way? No, and that’s probably confusing to some, because I know a lot of people believe that you are." Swoopes also claimed at the time that her 1999 divorce "wasn’t because I’m gay."

Swoopes will be tasked with trying to reinvigorate Loyola's struggling women's program. "The Ramblers only finished higher than fifth in the Horizon League once under former coach Eric Simpson, who resigned after leading them to a 57-66 record in four seasons," adds ESPN.

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SPORNO: LeBron James and the Miami Heat Do the "Harlem Shake"

Because it just isn't a party until LeBron James demonstrates his stripper moves and Chris Bosh produces a giant boom box.

Trade gone wild! The Miami Heat Harlem Shake edition WHEN YOU JUMP ...

SPORNO: It's All About Blake Griffin

PHOTOS: GETTY

As we have seen before, no one can keep their hands off Los Angeles Clippers' über-dunking hotness Blake Griffin. Not even LeBron James, seen here at the recent Clippers-Heat game.

The NBA superstar was last seen nude and sculpted to obscene perfection,  shirtless on South Beach, being groped on the court by Kobe Bryant and bumping and grinding with John Wall. Griffin strikes a muscle-y pose or two at the American Airlines Arena ...

AFTER THE JUMP, the baller demonstrates his "oral" skills ...

SPORNO: Louisville Basketball Players' Shirtless Harlem Shake

Because it just isn't a party until Louisville Cardinals' hotness Russ Smith demonstrates his stripper moves ...

And Peyton Siva strips down in the locker room. More spornorific silliness WHEN YOU JUMP ...