策劃、編譯■李威撰美國體壇的時代正在改變，美國職籃（NBA）球員柯林斯選擇出櫃，可望鼓勵其他頂尖聯盟的球員對自己的性向變得更開放。2年前，NBA傑出球員布萊恩因為對裁判說了歧視同志的髒話，被罰10萬美元；贏過5次NBA總冠軍的布萊恩，4月29日稱讚柯林斯出櫃，柯林斯成了北美重要職業運動聯盟第1位出櫃的男同志。柯林斯大剌剌地直接在《運動畫刊》的封面宣告出櫃，在美國職業運動界內部獲得相當多人支持，僅有些微不同的聲音。■ 華盛頓巫師隊對上芝加哥公牛隊，柯林斯在上半局帶球上籃，圖攝於2013年4月17日。（圖文／路透）職業美式足球聯盟（NFL）邁阿密海豚隊的外接員華萊士在推特上表示，自己無法理解為何會有男性想要跟另一名男性發展關係，而不是跟女性。「所有這些漂亮的女人都在這世上，而這群男人卻想跟男人們廝混（搖頭）。」刪掉前，華萊士在推特上如此寫道。後來他對任何造成冒犯的感覺表示歉意。華萊士的反應，跟舊金山49人角衛卡利佛並無不同。今年超級盃開打之前，卡利佛因為不歡迎同志球員進入球隊休息室的發言，登上新聞頭條。超級盃開始前，與媒體會面時，卡利佛當著大批對著他的鏡頭，連續道歉1個小時。改變正在發生無論對同志的態度是否真有改變，毫無疑問的是職業運動對同志變得更加寬容。如今的問題在於，柯林斯的行為──及其伴隨而來的普遍支持──是否會使其他運動員跟進。柯林斯公開出櫃沒多久，前美國足球國家代表隊隊球員羅傑斯在推特上寫道：「我覺得改變正在發生。」羅傑斯甫於今年2月出櫃。同志權益及反歧視團體確信，柯林斯替未來要出櫃的人鋪平了道路。「我們所有人都對傑森的行為感到相當欽佩。」平權倡議團體You Can Play的共同創辦人柏克表示：「傑森挺身而出的勇氣，以及他的故事，對其他運動員及粉絲來說，都是在樹立新的模範。」社會運動者希望，柯林斯的行為能打破其他未出櫃者心中的恐懼。NOH8 Campaign的創辦人鮑斯克與帕西里表示：「我們希望他的行動帶給其他人信心，無論現役或退役，這些人到現在可能還是會害怕出櫃後的生活。」柯林斯4月29日刊在《運動畫刊》的文章上，提到自己的挫折是他無法公開參與同志婚姻的辯論，這點出了同性戀議題在運動界並非不存在。印第安那大學布魯明頓分校的社會學家包威爾相信，體育界之後的發展情況，會跟婚姻辯論所呈現的形式差不多。出櫃運動員人數將增加他向《路透》表示：「我不認為會有很多人出櫃，但可能會持續不斷有人出櫃，類似上個月（3月）有政治人物出櫃支持同性婚姻。」「某天某人這麼做、隔天又換另一個人，我想相同的事會繼續發生──速度會放慢，但出櫃的運動員人數會變多。」美國下一代的職業運動員，現在還在大學運動圈裡。包威爾相信，這些人會帶給他們新的態度。他說：「我跟大學運動員所聽到的實際問題，是他們的隊友能不能把事情幹好，適任與能力比其他都重要。」「愈多運動員出櫃，就愈多運動員習以為常，因為他們將不再從個人性向角度出發來想事情，而是把重點放在表現上。」（路透）Times are changing for gays in American sports and National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jason Collins' decision to come out （1） will encourage others in the top leagues to be open about their sexuality （2）.Two years ago, NBA great Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for using an anti-gay slur against a referee （3） and on Monday the five-time NBA champion applauded Collins for coming out as the first gay man in a major North American professional sports league.Indeed Collins's very public coming out via the front cover of Sports Illustrated magazine was greeted with a stream of supportive comments from within professional sports in the United States with only the slightest hint of any dissent.Mike Wallace, a wide receiver with the National Football League's Miami Dolphins, tweeted his incomprehension that any male could prefer to be in a relationship with a man rather than a woman."All these beautiful women in the world and guys wanna mess with other guys, SMH (Shaking My Head)," Wallace tweeted before deleting the message and apologizing for any offense caused.Wallace's reaction was not dissimilar to that of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Chris Culliver who made headlines before this year's Super Bowl by saying he would not welcome a gay player into the team's locker room. Culliver spent a pre-Super Bowl media session with scores of television cameras pointed in his face as he repeated his apology for an hour.Whether it is a genuine change of attitude towards gays, there is no doubt that professional sports are turning away from intolerance of gays. The question now is whether Collins's move - and the widespread support for him - will lead to athletes from other leagues following suit."I feel a movement coming," Robbie Rogers, the former U.S. national team soccer player who came out in February, tweeted on Monday shortly after Collins's announcement. Gay rights and anti-discrimination groups certainly believe that Collins is making things easier for those who will come."All of us have huge admiration for what Jason is doing," said Patrick Burke, co-founder of equal rights advocacy group You Can Play. "Jason's courage in stepping forward with his personal story will provide athletes and fans with a new role model."Campaigners hope that Collins's move will help break down any fear that non-open gays may still have. "We hope his actions inspire confidence in others who might have been afraid to live their lives openly until now - both on and off the court," said NOH8 Campaign co-founders Adam Bouska and Jeff Parshley.Collins, in his Sports Illustrated article on Monday, cited his frustration at not being able to participate openly in the debate about same-sex marriage and that is a reminder that the issue of homosexuality in the sports arena does not exist in a vacuum.Sociologist Brian Powell at Indiana University Bloomington believes that what follows in sport now may follow a similar pattern to how the debate on marriage has unfolded."I don't think there will be a huge number of people coming out but there will be a probably a steady stream of people coming out, not unlike what happened last month when politicians came out in favor of same-sex marriage," he told Reuters."One day one person did and the next day another. I think the same will happen - it will be slower but there will be an increased number of players coming out."The next generation of professional athletes in the United States are currently playing in college sports and Powell believes they will bring with them a fresh attitude."What I hear, with college athletes, is the real question for them is whether or not their team mates do their job. Competence and ability to play comes before anything else," he said."The more athletes publicly come out, the more other athletes are going to be comfortable with this, simply because they can then stop thinking of it in terms of the person's sexuality and focus on their performance."（Reuters）關鍵字詞1.sexuality（n.）性傾向2.come out（v.）出櫃3.referee（n.）裁判員