New Era of Tolerance in Sports

In the past years history has been made with minorities such as Jackie Robinson being the first African American to play MLB to Manny Pacquiao paving the way for Asian athletes. Now in the year 2011, some athletes and sports executives are open with their sexuality and reminding the world that gay and transgender athletes are currently competing in professional sports .
This comes off the heels of news that Phoenix Suns president Rick Welts tells the New York Times that he is gay.

"In these meetings and in interviews with The New York Times, Mr. Welts explained that he wants to pierce the silence that envelops the subject of homosexuality in men's team sports. He wants to be a mentor to gay people who harbor doubts about a sports career, whether on the court or in the front office. Most of all, he wants to feel whole, authentic.

"This is one of the last industries where the subject is off limits," said Mr. Welts, who stands now as a true rarity, a man prominently employed in professional men's team sports, willing to declare his homosexuality. "Nobody's comfortable in engaging in a conversation."

This shows great progress in sports, but Welts works in the boardroom and not in the locker room. All of this is up to the players throughout professional sports to accept equality not just from a person's race, but a person's sexuality.