How will Jason Collins’ coming-out affect his career?
Kristen Buhalo
table-games dealer | Northeast Philadelphia
“Everything I heard on ESPN is negative. It’s going to be tough for him to play with straight players. They don’t want the physical contact with him. I’ve also heard that some players don’t want to be in a locker room with him. I’ve only heard negative things about it. So it might hurt his career. But I don’t know for sure.”
Kristen Buhalo
table-games dealer | Northeast Philadelphia
“Everything I heard on ESPN is negative. It’s going to be tough for him to play with straight players. They don’t want the physical contact with him. I’ve also heard that some players don’t want to be in a locker room with him. I’ve only heard negative things about it. So it might hurt his career. But I don’t know for sure.”
Toni Leonard
student | Fairmount
“There’s no such thing as bad publicity. In that sense, it’s helping his career. I think the support he’s getting outweighs the negative reactions. The reactionaries are anchoring themselves to the past, and they’re going to be left behind.”
Heather Martin
account manager | Fairmount
“It’s giving him a boost. I never heard of him before he came out. And I think that’s true of most people. Now, his name is out there. NBA teams will bend over backwards to sign him, just to prove they’re not homophobic. Any way you look at it, it’s helping his career.”
Maxwell Morgan
audio engineer | North Philadelphia
“It will help him. He’s becoming more confident as a human being, and he’ll be a better player as well. A lot of the public is proud of him. Coaches will recognize that and take him on. A team might pick him up just because they want the publicity.”
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