 Hello and welcome to all our viewers from around the world. My name is Morgan O'Brien and I am a Cultural Affairs Officer with the Sports Diplomacy Office here at the State Department. I'm here today with Wade Davis, a former American football player and the Executive Director of the You Can Play Project, an advocacy organization working to eradicate homophobia in professional sports. And joining us virtually is Jason Collins, a professional American basketball center for the Brooklyn Nets and one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Thank you both for joining us today. Thank you for having me. Also participating with us today, we have viewing parties joining us from Vienna, Prague, Warsaw and Ottawa. We look forward to interacting with all of you from around the world. For all of you watching this program live, we encourage you to participate and make this an interactive conversation. You can do this by either submitting questions in the chat box to the right of this video or by using the hashtag out in sports, one word, on Twitter. Now I'd like to start off by asking Wade Davis to tell us a little bit more about himself and his organization, the You Can Play Project. Wade? Great. So I'm a, as you mentioned, I'm an NFL football player. I played four years. I played for the Washington Redskins, the Seattle Seahawks and the Tennessee Titans. I'm a Southern boy who was also raised in Colorado, so I'm kind of, I guess, a Mountain West Southern Mutt. And I was named Executive Director of the You Can Play Project in 2013, and it's been really a real blessing, you know, having a chance to work with so many different leagues from the NHL to the NFL to Major League Soccer, and just really to interact with athletes who are really excited about eradicated homophobia from the sports world. Thank you, Wade. Now let's welcome Jason Collins joining us via Skype. Jason, would you like to tell us, how's it going? Would you like to tell us a little bit more about your background? In Southern California, born and raised in Los Angeles, I graduated from Stanford University in 2001. I was drafted into the NBA first round draft pick, and it's interesting because the NBA draft is coming up on Thursday, so I remember all those feelings that all these NBA players are getting ready for. But I just finished my 13th year in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets. Last spring, I announced to the world that I am gay, and since that point, my life has gotten so much better. Great. Welcome again, Jason. It's good to see you. Now, as I mentioned at the start of the program, we have a viewing audience from Vienna, Austria, and I understand that they have some questions for our guests. So let's go to them now for our first question. Hello, this is Vienna, Austria. We're grateful to be included in this program, and we've got some questions on this side, so I'll open it to the floor here. Gentlemen, anyone to start off with? Well, let me kick it off then with a question for the two athletes there. I think we've all seen tremendous strides made in the LGBT rights movement over the last decade or two. Lots of professions where people can be open, I'm thinking of politics, diplomacy, other places, and yet professional sports seem to be behind. Why is it that they seem to be kind of stuck in a time warp from, let's say, 10, 20 years ago and behind other areas of LGBT life? What is it about professional sports that makes it so difficult enough to crack? That's a great question. Thank you. And I'll turn it over to you first, Wade. We were actually talking about this a moment ago. Yeah, I think one of the biggest issues that you find is issues of masculinity, right? The term gay has historically been a very sexist term that meant weaker or less than. So for a lot of the athletes that I work with who aren't out, they believe that being an athlete and naming themselves gay will automatically come with a bunch of different stereotypes, right? And most of them for their entire lives have thought of themselves as athletes. And to come out, that term gay becomes now a modifier that speaks to you being less or weaker. So I think one of the biggest things that we're finding is that athletes really have grown up just wanting to be an athlete. And they're really afraid of having that term gay placed on them. And I think also that sports has never been a space where you thought that being a gay person and being an athlete could actually mix. I think that what we're finding with more people like Jason and Michael Sam and Derek Gordon who are being a lot more visible, athletes are feeling as if sports is a space where they can exist as their authentic self and be an athlete. And that's a great point to pivot to you, Jason. And I know that you've talked a lot about being your authentic self and maybe you can piggyback off of Wade's response. Yeah. My parents always taught me to be extremely proud of who I am, regardless of what it is with regards to my race, with regards to just being tall. So I'm one of those people that always preaches be proud of all the things that make you unique and being gay is part of what makes me unique and what makes me who I am. So it took a long time for me to embrace that part because it goes back to what Wade talked about with race, the culture of sport. And a lot of people equate being gay with some very negative stereotypes and you really have to embrace and have that confidence or that self-confidence to embrace or break down those stereotypes so that people don't see that being gay. I'm technically the strongest guy on the team when it comes to bench press. It doesn't really matter as far as my sexual orientation when it comes to strength or skill or my ability to hang out on the court and get the job done for my team. Before we throw it back to Vienna, I have to ask a personal question, Jason. How much can you bench press? I can bench press a lot. It was kind of funny that some of my teammates didn't quite realize how strong I was in the weight room. So on the very lower rack in our weight room, there are 110 to 120-pound dumbbells. And I start pulling those things off and I'm repping out. This is 220 pounds and 100 pounds in each hand. And I start repping them out. And I can see some of my teammates hit me, but they didn't want to say anything. Because those guys, no one else touches those. They're collecting dust. So when I joined the Nets, I'd collect the dust off of them and show the guys that it is possible to lift them off the rack and start repping them out. Leading by example. Going back to Austria, do you have another question for us out there in Vienna? Yes, we do. We have the chief editor here from the Sports Magazine of Austria, Mr. Hannes Kropik, who has a question for you. Yeah, hello. Jason, a question for you. To tell me about the day the Sports Illustrated magazine came out, what did you expect in the morning and how did you go to bed at night? So let me back to the day before. That Sunday, I went out and played golf with my brother. We have a tradition of the day of the NBA draft. We went out and played golf. It's just one of those things, you're outside and you're in a beautiful environment. You sort of relaxes me. Of course, I wanted to share that moment with my twin brother, but we had started to tell some players. And on the golf course, I received two wonderful text messages, one from actually Darren Williams, who was my point guard with the Brooklyn Nets, and then also Jerry Stackhouse. He played in the NBA for a long time. And after reading those text messages, and then I called Jerry and we had a great conversation. And I said, if this is going to be the response, it's going to be overwhelming and just and it ended up just being overwhelming and humbling. The morning that the story broke, we knew that it was going to break around 8.30 West Coast specific time. So before that happened, I made a lot of calls over that weekend and that morning to allow people just out of respect, giving them a heads up on what was about to happen. And when the story broke, the calls that started coming in, my emails, text messages, and then the culmination was back-to-back calls from Oprah Winfrey and then President Barack Obama. And I mean, if I had one word to characterize it, it would be survival. And I'm just so proud of most of my friends and family, they already knew. They'd known for some of them over a year. But just for my NBA family, my coaches, my teammates that I've had over the years, the fans in the LGBT community, the support was, it was really overwhelming. And then the funniest part of that is actually Wade. Wade to this day still hasn't told me how he got my cell phone number because on Monday, he was one of the people that reached out to me and was able to keep... Did we speak that? I know that you sent me a text message, but I think we also spoke that day. But I've been trying, so it's been over a year and he still hasn't told me how he got my cell phone number. I have some pretty good connections. My claim to fame is that I called Jason before the president did, so I was pretty happy about that. You know, Sports Illustrated over the last 14, 15 months has actually run two cover stories about the gay athlete with Michael Sam earlier this year. And Wade, obviously Jason had a very interesting story about his experience, but how did it impact you seeing the gay athlete in male professional sports be put in the forefront over this last time as a leader with you can play and as a gay athlete yourself? I got a phone call from one of the co-founders of You Can Play Patrick Burke and he was like, the story about Jason Collins is just broke. Did you know this? And I was like, no, I'm actually sleeping. But when I got up and I went online, I kind of froze a little bit because it seemed very surreal to me as well. And then I was like, okay, who do I know that can get me Jason's number? And I knew someone who knows someone who works for the Celtic, so that's how I got Jason's number. And then he gave me Jason's number. He's like, you better not give it to anyone else. And I was like, deal. And even to this day, Jason knows, I do not give out his number without his consent. But I literally, I was frozen for a little bit and just talking to Jason was like talking to someone who I have known my whole entire life. Same thing happened with Michael Sam. Like the first time I hung out with Michael Sam, it was like talking to a brother. The experiences that we all have as former professional athletes, well, for Michael and Jason as current athletes who are out, you share some similarities and it was just really beautiful. But to see that on the cover of Sports Illustrates, the first thing I thought about was the kids that I worked with. Like how many kids' lives are gonna be saved, are gonna be changed by being able to say, like I saw Jason Collins, a gay man on the cover of Sports Illustrated, and I saw him play, you know? And I don't think that Jason will ever understand really the impact that he's had not only on America, but on the world, that there are kids now who can, who believe that their life is possible because of what he's done. That's, yeah, that's great. And I actually was fortunate enough to have Jason sign my Sports Illustrated when he was here a couple of weeks ago. It'll be hanging on my wall in a couple of weeks. Well, it looks like we have some questions coming in from our online viewers. Let's start with Jason first. Jason, you obviously made a conscious choice to reveal to the world that you were gay. Even so, did you expect all the scrutiny your announcement has received? Were you ready for the role that you've taken on? I was ready to just live my life. And I'm stuck, okay. I'm seven feet tall. I'm black. I can't go out on a date. I can't blend into a crowd. I think the only place that I blend in is on the basketball court. So, I think it's something so powerful and so special about controlling your own story and controlling your own truth. And just out on your own terms. So, it goes back to me that my family had already known a lot of my friends. So, my sports system loved me and they had my back and I played for that 2012, 2013 season with a lot of people already knowing. So, I reached a point where I was remade to just start living my life. And I felt that I could still play basketball. So, why not? I talked about in the Sports Illustrated article where you're sitting around, it's sort of like being in the classroom when you have the answer. You kind of want somebody else to have the answer first where you just put your hand up. But at the same time, it's like, okay, if nobody else is gonna raise their hand and I'll raise my hand and be the canary that goes into my chat and it shows people that it's okay. You can have your private, you can have your life off the court. You can be out of it. And then you can still be a professional and pretty thriving and making plays to help you win. Thank you, Jason. Wade, I know that you actually just flew in this morning from the NFL orientation with the NFC teams. And with that in mind, what are some of the trends that you're seeing in the leagues now, in the acceptance of LGBT people in major sports? Do you think that more athletes will come out or their challenge is still too great at this point? I think some of the big things that you're seeing is that the level of acceptance amongst athletes, right? So when Jason came out, you had stars from Paul Pierce to Dwayne Wade to Shaquille O'Neal who set such beautiful words around acceptance, right? So I think that when you have leagues like the NFL, the NBA, who are being asked to take a step forward and to show that they're an inclusive space, that they're actually doing the work. The NBA has done amazing work. The NFL, a major league soccer, the NHL was the first league to sign a partnership deal with you can play. So I think that what you're seeing is that the leagues know that this is an issue and that they're taking the right steps to start to have really some hard conversations. And I don't think that you'll see a windfall of athletes who are gay to start saying that, hi, I wanna follow the footsteps of Jason Collins, but I do think that because we're having some hard conversations around issues of sexism and masculinity in sports, that you're seeing that athletes just feel safer. I don't know if Jason experiences, but I get a lot of emails from athletes just asking, like, what's the NBA doing? What's the NFL doing with this issue? So there are a lot of athletes right now who aren't out, but who are very curious about what's happening, and I think that they're getting closer and closer. And I'd like to just piggyback on that, is that it's important for the leadership of those particulates in leagues, be it Adam Silver with that, or Roger Vibel and that people are on down the line to set that tone, because there are gonna be those missteps. There are supposed to be some people who are still kinda stuck in the old ways, and it's important for leadership to be strong and change the culture and help change the culture. Continue to foster that environment that so that when there is someone who says something that isn't up there for you, that there is a stern, strong message that, usually it's in the form of a font, so that people, the attitudes change because of leadership. And again, it also goes back to even now in the World Cup, I'm watching the World Cup, and seeing a governing body like FIFA, I think that there's more that can be done with regards to FIFA. Their leadership needs to step up a little bit more as an artist, really making sure that when there are missteps that the message is being sent up, that the culture is changing, the times are changing, that we need to really create that environment that supports everyone. Now we have another question from our online audience. It looks like, well actually, the one question I wanted to piggyback on the World Cup was do you think we have what it takes to be Germany on Thursday? I hope so. I think everybody in the States was watching that game on Sunday, and I think everybody felt like we lost, even though it wasn't my thigh, but that goal was just so pretty good. When Portugal scored, I think everybody just thought, it was like, what just happened? What, did we lose? Yeah, I was shocked too. Yeah, yeah. We can get it done. Germany's gonna be tough. Very tough, very tough. Yeah, I realized that we have a big European audience, so I wanted to make it topical for them too. My uncle, I have an uncle who has Dutch, so that's my backup. My sister-in-law is Mexican, so I have some backups. I'll be cheering for just in case. One question I want to go back to is the call from the president that you received, Jason. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about what your conversation was like with him when he picked up the phone and gave you the call that day. Yeah, he spoke about what Wade touched on, as far as he said, Jason, I know that you did this for your personal life, and so that you can have your life, but your decision will affect so many other people, gay and straight. And for the LGBT community, it gives another role model for young kids to look up to. And then for the straight community, it sparks the conversation. So many people are fans of sport, and it just breaks the conversation. It's just not going to break her. I had a teammate who was playing in Germany, a former teammate of mine from Stanford who was playing professionally in Germany. And when the story broke, he told me that they had a game, and after the game, the story broke, and they stayed in the classroom for over an hour just talking about what it would be like to have an openly gay teammate. And I think that's part of breaking stereotypes is just having the conversation so that when more and more people come out, you're putting a name and a face to it so that when I did rejoin the Brooklyn Nets, it wasn't when Jason Kidd was asking his team or my teammates about how do we feel about having a gay basketball? How do you feel about Jason Collins being your teammate? And it was about family at that point. I think one of the things that's so really wonderful is that oftentimes I tell kids that it's very hard to become what you don't see. And Laverne Cox, who's a good friend of mine as well, always says that she's a possibility model, and that's what Jason is. He's a possibility model, right? So now kids know that there exists in sports if the LGBT is now possible. And as I said earlier, I don't think Jason knows what he's done for other kids, but I don't think he knows what he's done for me as well. A lot of the jobs that I get are because of him. I haven't had a break since he came out. He keeps me very, very busy. Wrapping up the free flyer box. He's a job creator. Exactly. Well, that's an interesting point. You just came in from NFL orientation, as we mentioned a moment ago. Maybe you can talk a little bit about some of the trends that you're seeing today with some of the major sports and what your experience was yesterday. Yeah, so one thing that at the NFL is doing is that they're partnering with us on initiative called High Five, where we're taking current and former players back to LGBT organizations, right? Last year with Jason, we launched initiative called The You Belong Initiative, which was a sports camp for LGBTQ youth. So it was a space where young kids who can learn about the sport of basketball, and Jason came and taught them how to play the game better. They worked on drills, but then there was also workshops on youth leadership, on anti-bullying, on social justice, on health and wellness. So young kids can go back into their communities and be civically engaged and feel empowered by the fact that sports is a space that gives them so many other things, besides the athleticism. From sports, you get to value teamwork and their structure, their leadership stuff. So I think the leagues are really starting to give back into the LGBT community. And it's really wonderful for young kids to go, wow, these sports leagues actually care about me and my future. And I think that that is something that more and more leagues are going to start to do. Yeah, you even work with the NHL also. Yeah, so that you can play a project with partners with the NHL, Major League Soccer, WWE, the NFL. And we have a couple other announcements that are coming up very, very soon too. All right, we'll stay tuned. Viewer from Haiti mentioned in the online chat that when traveling with his gay teammates, they often encounter difficult situations abroad. This is for both of you. What advice would you have for this situation? And how can you support your teammates in this situation? We'll go to you first, Jason. Well, continue to be an advocate for your teammate. With regards to you, you see something's wrong, speak up about it. Also, you know, you don't, you know, be careful with regards to a conversation to engage into a confrontation where within a physical confrontation. But at the same time, I do want to keep you, if you see something is wrong, you speak up about it. And you, again, it goes back to leadership. It goes back to, in order to change an attitude, a conversation needs to be had. You want it obviously to escalate into a physical altercation, but at the same time, you do need to have a conversation in a tone that, you know, lets people know, put, you know, put them on notice that their actions are wrong. And, but at the same time, there are going to be those people conversation with Judy Shepard. When I came out, Matthew Shepard's mom, and she said that there's always going to be haters in the world and let the haters hate you, you keep living your life. So you, you say your words, you speak up. You, you, you know, you put them on notice. But if they can't, you know, find it within themselves to change or find it with themselves to, or if they keep trying to hate, then, you know, you move on and you keep living your life. You keep supporting your teammate because that is your emotional sister brother or female sports sister sister. And being a team is truly being a team is like being a family. You stick up for your family. And Wade, you had a pretty unique experience playing American football in Europe. Were there any cultural differences that struck you in your time over there? Well, in Berlin, you know, it was really, really wonderful just because they spoke more English. But when I was in Barcelona, I was in an area called Seaches. And I didn't, didn't know of Seaches. But when I got over there, I realized it is a gay mecca, right? So I was, I was a non out player on this beach with all these gay men, you know, that weren't wearing much at all. So it was, I thought God was punishing me for something because it was literally, none of my teammates knew that I was gay. And I was like, wow, there are all these attractive men everywhere. And I can't even say hello to one of them because I was so afraid. So my experience from a bird's eye view in Barcelona was amazing, right? But mentally, it was very, very hard on me, yeah. Tarashelli and Prague asked the following question. What advice would you give a young athlete with a homophobic coach? Wade, we'll go to you first. You know, that has been an experience for a lot of young people that we've worked with. And the first thing that we tell them to do is hopefully talk to their parents about it, that they can find a sense of support somewhere and then have their parents work with the administration, right? So if there is an athletic director, if there's a principal, have your parents first become, you know, kind of the voice for that young athlete. If their parents aren't supportive, then you have to find someone in that space who can support you. So whether it's an assistant coach or someone that can actually be that advocate because a young person can't play, you just can't play your best if you're not being supportive. And one of our biggest things is to talk to coaches about when you create an environment where your athletes feel safe, to be their authentic self, you immediately get a better player, right? You know, I think Jason is an example of that. Michael Samms, an example of that. Brittany Griners, an example of that. So by telling coaches that, hey, if your goal as a leader is to get the best out of your athletes, you have to do that by setting a culture of acceptance on your team. And Jason, over to you. Do you have any experience with homophobia and the coaching ranks? And if so, do you have any advice on how to deal with that? The only example I could think of back was a coach I had in junior high school. But he wasn't just homophobic. He was just a mean person. Some coaches are, you know, just like, you know, like people are just some people are, you, you put your head down, you do your job, you work hard while you're around that coach, while you're around that. And hopefully, like Wade said, you have someone that you can confide and someone that's in your support system get a family member or maybe another teammate or an assistant coach or someone, a school administrator or a teacher so that you want to go to the teacher, to the coach, directly with your support system in tow and put him on notice that there's a better way to do what, to be a coach. Because again, it goes about, it goes back to being families and supportive. Yeah, the coach is supposed to push you to get the best out of you, but do it in an update on the environment if possible or when possible. And so again, yeah, it's all, there's all the strength in numbers and just, you know, have a support system, try to find those like-minded people and speak in numbers. We have another question, this one coming in from online viewer Kevin from Ottawa who says that the issues and difficulty of coming out in athletics can be seen in other professions, for example, the perceptions of negative repercussions. How can your experience be applied to other professions? Wade, we'll turn this to you first. Yeah, you know, I think there are other industries that have kind of a culture of negativity around certain issues. You know, I would say that the banking industry is probably one of those. And, you know, I think, you know, it's really about leadership and having really spacious conversations around what does it mean to show up as an effective leader? How do you really get the best out of your employees? How do you, you know, someone once told me that even if you're not intentional about creating a culture, there's still a culture that's being creative. So how do we make sure that everyone can show up on the job, you know, and feel safe to work in an environment that's loving, that's embracing, that's accepting? And, you know, I think with the conversations that's being had on an international level around issues of homophobia and sexism, that there are a lot of jobs and corporations who are doing a lot of great work. I've spoken at organizations like Pepsi and Mass Mutual and a lot of places who have employee research groups that are really trying to make sure that all of their employees, whether they're black or whether they're a female or LGBT, can really show up as their authentic selves, knowing that it's a productivity thing, right? That if you can't go to work and feel as if you can have a picture of your wife on your desk or your husband or talk about the fact that you just got married, then you really can't bring your full self to your job. I'm going to stake on the theme of leadership here. One of the people that came out strongest in support of Jason after he made his announcement last year was Doc Rivers, his former coach. And then Doc again was thrust into the headlines in the fallout of the whole Donald Sterling scandal and actually came across as a tremendous leader during this time. And I don't think it's a coincidence in either place. Jason, maybe you could talk a little bit about some of the characteristics that Doc showed that made him such a talented leader in both of these circumstances. I've played for a lot of great coaches, including last year with Jason Kidd. I think he already is a great coach and he will continue to get better. But of all the coaches that I've had through my career, Doc Rivers is just on another level. He can talk to each and every player. Just find some way to relate, some way to push the right firms with each player to get everyone to buy in to the team to sacrifice. And sometimes he talks about being a leader and being a leader sometimes is the hardest position on the team because a leader has to have a different kind of perspective. He can't just see his role. He has to see the team and speak up and hold people accountable and sometimes having to talk with people. Because sometimes it can be a confrontation. Sometimes people avoid confrontation, but the leader has to be the one that sets the example day in and day out and goes back to what Wade said as far as creating that environment where people can be their true self and know that they are respected. Because if it goes back to when I was in junior high, I couldn't wait to get away from that particular coach. So if I was in high order now and then with the Boston Celtics, I would go in on an off day. I just enjoyed the Celtics organization so much that when you have that right environment, like Wade said, product really goes up and it starts with leadership and Doc is the best. You know, and Jason used to go in high school on off days, but that was because he liked his teammate Jason Siegel from How I Met Your Mother with his backup at Harusley. Jason Siegel was our backup center. If you can believe it, he could actually jump pretty high. You want to dunk on tests. I know it doesn't look like you see him now in the movie. I think he actually has a new movie coming out with Cameron Diaz. He's doing okay with himself, but yeah, he's a funny guy. Super talented, always been super talented. Heck of a high school. We have a question now coming in from Twitter from at Philip Tom from Vienna. Could you elaborate on your role in President Obama and Secretary Kerry's initiatives? As you know, both of these gentlemen, the leaders of our government and our top diplomat are both huge champions of LGBT issues. Wade, you've been recently added to our Speaker's Bureau here. Maybe you can talk about how your role will fit in promoting our American culture and values. Yeah, you know, I think one of the big things that I really want to do is start to talk about sports from a different perspective, right? I think that one of the issues that we have when we talk about sports, let's take American football, for example. We talk about it from a framework of physicality or violence, right? And those dynamics do exist, but what the real essence of sports is is family. It's team, it's a brotherhood, it's a sisterhood. And I think if we can start to reinforce what those values are to young kids, you'll see an influx of kids who are LGBT who want to start playing those games. You'll also see kids who identify as heterosexual start to really think about their role on a team as a brother, as a sister, and I think that that's really where our role should really start is. But how are we talking about sports to kids? How are we making sure that when we think of sports, we think of the essence of what sports is? You know, I'm sure Jason will tell you that the reason why he keeps playing sports is not because he loves icing his back or icing his knees now, right? It's because of his teammates. It's because of like those family bonds are bonds that will last forever. So I really want to start to really enhance and talk about those aspects of sport. And Jason, how do you fit into working with the U.S. government? Yeah, I was just appointed by President Obama to the Council on Fitness, Health and Nutrition. And I actually just did something for them yesterday, a Twitter session. So I've gone to the White House several times. Met with, gone obviously to the State Department, met you. And, you know, any time I have an opportunity to speak up and speak out on issues that are important to me, I feel a responsibility. I think that it's really cool that I have a positive impact on so many people's lives. And I'm just trying to continue that conversation and continue to have that impact on people, especially the next generation. This next question is coming in from north of the border where Kristin from Ottawa asks, what can sports organizations at the national level do to help up and coming athletes feel comfortable about sharing their LGBTQ status? Is it more programming awareness or is it policy? What do you think, Wade? I think it's a mixture of all of those. I think one of the big things is that sports organizations can be intentional about their language, right? I think when you think of, like, leaks have diversity and inclusion policies. But historically, the word diversity has meant, you know, sex or religion or gender. When you're an LGBT person, you need someone to be intentional about saying that my sports league will embrace someone who's gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Saying those words creates a certain level of visibility. I think for myself, when I was playing in the NFL, if someone had said, hey, the Tennessee Titans will embrace you even if you're gay, you know, like, I'm sorry, not even if, but the Titans will embrace a gay player. I think that that type of intentionality would have been highly impactful. And then also what a lot of leagues are doing now is bringing in speakers like myself or Jason to educate players about what the experience of a player who's not out is actually like, because I think that really sheds light to the fact that first of all, that we exist and the idea that by not having the culture, what we can show up as our true selves, hurts your athletes. Yeah, it goes back to Wade and I and Michael and Robbie Rogers and Rick Orwell. We're not the only ones. There are many other out there and it's important for those leagues, for those institutions and organizations, especially for, like I said, it's all about leagues, that you continue to foster that environment of support so that when someone is ready to step forward, that they know that the organization, their league, their team will have their back and will support them and encourage people to live that authentic life. This next question we'll throw to you too, Jason. It comes from Maddie from Prague in the Czech Republic and she wants to know, do you think that some sports are more accepting of gay athletes than others? For example, did it mean anything that you were in the NBA first before Michael Sam coming out in the NFL or why hasn't MLB had an openly gay athlete? No, I think sport culture is sport culture. I mean, it doesn't matter. I think it goes back to being what Wade said about, what does it mean being male and gay? Because my role models in the LGBT community growing up were Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King. I love, I'm very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet face to face and I'm just so proud of the way that they've been out for decades. As male athletes, we have some catching up to do. We're supposed to be the strong ones that yet true strength has been shown in the female community and I never really had that role model as far as a male role model to look up to. So I think it's encouraging and going to make it better for the future that now future LGBT athletes will not only be able to look to the women but also to male athletes. And we're giving the next generation more and more people to cheer for, to look up to and say, hey, maybe one day that can be me. Wade, before we started today off-camera, we talked a little bit about some of the differences between female athletes that were coming out and male athletes. Maybe you could share that with our audience. Yeah, so I've had the real privilege to work with a lot of amazing advocates who are looking to inhomophobia, biphobia, transphobia and sexism in sports. And I think from a female athlete's perspective, because of the pervasiveness of sexism, if you're a female athlete and you're just assumed to be lesbian, which creates a dynamic where there are a lot of female allies who aren't really ready to speak out because of the demands that are placed on them. You know, I was told a story of but that a lot of female athletes will actually put makeup on or do their hair or do their nails before a game. You know, like that's problematic, that these athletes feel as if they have to feminize themselves just to be looked at a certain way in sports. And even on the male side, there's a lot of work to be done around that as well. I think one of the conversations that hasn't been had is that myself and Jason Collins and Michael Sam and Derek Gordon exhibit a certain type of masculinity that is accepted in sports and also in the public sphere. But what does it mean to have someone who may not exhibit a stereotypical type of masculinity be able to play a perceived masculine sport like the sport of basketball or the NFL. So I think that there's a larger discussion to be had around sexism and the pervasiveness that it has, the ways that it sets up these gender roles that a male has to act a certain way, a female has to act a certain way. And if we don't start to do away with that, then we really won't do the work to really create a space in sports where anyone, regardless of their gender expression, can show up. Yeah. And it goes back to, if I'm someone's teammate, like, can you play? What I should all be about is, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, whether this mannerism that I did, I don't care, it's like, can you help us? We need to win this game. That's what it should be about. US Embassy Warsaw sends in a question asking, did other gay players contact either of you after you're coming out and ask for your advice? Wade, what was your experience? Yes. So I've had a lot of younger kids reach out to me and also some African-American youth. I think what is also really wonderful about Jason and Michael Sam and Brittany is that there has been an influx of African-American individuals who are gay or lesbian coming out. So I think that you're starting to see a lot of youth of color who are really inspired and see themselves when they look at Jason or Brittany. So I've had a lot of young kids who reach out. And again, they ask the most amazing questions. You know, one of my favorite questions, that was a young girl, I think she was 11, and she said, how do I know if I'm a lesbian? And it's just really wonderful to see that we're having these conversations that weren't had when I was playing. And the fact that people have someone like myself or Jason who they have access to, whether it be a Twitter or Facebook, really creates a community. And I know for myself that I was really searching for a community. So now that this community of LGBT athletes exists, young people are starting to say, hey, I can ask Jason a question. He can tell me what it's like to be gay in a locker room. Now, Jason, we know that the president called you. We know that Wade Davis shook down the Celtics, get your phone number. Who was the coolest person that you got a phone call from after the SI story broke? Well, I mean... Not to put you on the spot. I mean, Oprah and the president. Okay. But I'll say the most surprising call that I received was from Tim Hardaway. Oh, okay, uh-huh. Former NBA basketball player. And the reason why some of you may not know this, that makes it so surprising for me. A former basketball player, John Amici, came out. He's one of my mentors. I spoke with him a couple of weeks before the sports illustrator called just to... Because he's sort of been down this path. But a couple of years after he retired, or he made the announcement that he is gay, and when he did, Tim Hardaway spoke up in a very negative way about that. It just shows his growth, Tim Hardaway's growth over the past couple, several years to where when I came out, he got a hold of me. And just whether it was love and support, just he wanted to congratulate me. And I wasn't expecting a call from him. And also those words, it's just... It shows people are capable of change. And that it took someone like John Amici to come out to start him on a path that leads to acceptance. And to where when I came out and my announcement, he reached out to me and was incredibly supportive. I think that's real impressive. Tim Hardaway used some really, really serious language after John Amici came out. And I think it also shows a lot about mankind and how we can see the errors in our ways and fix things and make them better. And I think that's a real important story to share too. A viewer from Prague asks, what do you think is the biggest fear for LGBT athletes who are considering coming out? Jason, maybe we go to you first. Sort of, well, with me, it was the fear of the unknown was, would I get signed to an Indian team? Because I was going to be a free... I waited until after my season ended with the Washington Wizard 2013. And it's a little bit of a feat, unknown. But when I did get signed and finished out the season with the Brooklyn Nets, and the initial wave of media coverage, that died down after two weeks there. Yeah, the cameras and the press conference and that. But after two weeks, our PR guy with the Brooklyn Nets, he had a running judge. He was like, you go from being cover sports illustrator to being Mr. Relevant. And honestly, I am one of those players on the team. I'm one of the guys on the end of the bench for the last four or five years of my career that would have been my role. And I'll mind you, earlier on in my career, I was a starting center in the NBA finals in 2000. Most professional athletes are roles on the team evolve. And for the past several years, I'm that role guy. And if I don't play, questions don't get asked in the media. So I think some of the fears are, will I be a distraction in this and that? No, it'll go back to being about the sport. There will be an initial bump for a week or two, maybe. And then it'll just be about, OK, how's the team doing? And that's what it should be about. It should always be about the team. And I showed that when I joined the Nets, we went on a nice little role there. We started winning some basketball games and just all the negative stuff about being a bad distraction and the locker room, how will it be? And it's the same. It's the same as it was my previous 12 years. I will say the only difference was occasionally in the locker room, my prior 12 years, I would hear language being used negatively about maybe members of the LGBT community. But when I rejoined the team, and not one word did not hear one thing in the locker room, and it goes back to sort of that Tim Hardaway thing, it's like people can change. The culture of sport can change. And people, when they see someone who's just proud of who he is and just upholds his truth, people respect that. And when you respect your teammate, you won't use language. That part of being just gets eliminated. And I had so much fun this year, more so than any other year, because I didn't have that distance in my life of, well, today be the day that people figure out that I'm gay. And just having that stress eliminated, it was incredible. That's powerful. Now Wade, when you work with youth, or even with the rookie crap from the NFL, are there fears that they share with you that you take to heart? Yeah, you know, I would say one of the biggest fears that, and Jason kind of touched on it, is the shake up of the locker room. I think from Americans' perspective, we're a culture that's a little bit uncomfortable with sexuality. So the idea that you would insert a gay player into a locker room full of other men, there's this idea that because of the sexuality of that person, that that'll become a distraction. And it's a really easy answer, and Jason touched on this a lot. And NFL locker room, NBA locker room, it's a family. So it would seem wonderful if you placed a guy in the locker room full of women, and that he would be excited by that. But if they're his sisters, there is no attraction. And the same thing for Jason, I'm sure he could test it as well. Like, his teammates were his brothers, you know? And so, and you look at them as such. So that dynamic of sexuality being an issue or a distraction, it just isn't one. But I will say one of the biggest deterrents from gay athletes that I do hear is that they don't want that modified put in front of their name. Like, they just want to be referred to as an athlete. And Michael Sam kind of touched on that as well during his interview. He said, I can't wait to ask me more questions about just being an actual athlete. US Embassy Warsaw has another question from Poland. We haven't heard of any transgender person in a professional sport. Do you think transgender people will ever be allowed to compete in professional sports, or just as important, feel comfortable coming out? Wade, we'll start with you on this. Well, currently there are some. So Jason and I are very close friends with Fallon Fox, she's a trans female fighter in MMA. Also, Akai Alums, he's an ex-college basketball player as well. So they do exist. There's a lot of education that needs to be had around issues of transgender just because from a hormone standpoint. But there are a lot of states that are doing really great work at the high school level to make sure that if you are a transgender individual that you do have access to playing your sport. It gets a little trickier once you get to the professional ranks. But the conversations are being had a lot slower than they should be. And I do believe that we as the LGBT community have to be very careful to not forget the T in LGBT to make sure that the work is being done around all of us. And Jason, do you have anything to add? Yeah. My actual first experience with a member of the trans community was actually at a camp that he spoke about earlier. I think we may have lost Jason there. Are you there? Oh, yeah, I'm here. Can you hear me? Yep, we got you back. Okay. And a couple of the campers were from the trans community. And just having that interaction and just supporting, like Wade said, it's important that we not forget about the T in the LGBT community. And actually, I was at an event last night here in New York and I got to meet Laverne Cox. Amazing. Huge fan of her and of the show, Orange is the New Black. And I think it's important, like sort of like what happened with me with regards to sports illustrated, having that conversation being started with Laverne being on the cover of Time Magazine and people having that conversation. When you have that conversation, you start to break down stereotypes. You start to think of, you know, okay, what the possibilities are. And I think it's important that we continue to have conversations along those lines. Now, Wade, not everyone around the world has access to organizations like yours. What advice can you give to international allies or young athletes who want to be involved but don't know how? How could you go about finding or starting a similar organization? So in America, we have this thing called Gay-Straight Alliances, which are starting to do more work internationally. So I would go on the GSA Network's website, also GLSEN, the Gay-Lens Ministry Educational Network. Their executive director, Eliza Byrd, is amazing and she travels internationally as well to do a lot of great work. So I would reach out to both of those organizations but also your local embassy, right? And to find out what different organizations in your parts of the world are doing this type of work. But to reach out to myself or Jason via Twitter, you know, or via Facebook, I accept all friends on Facebook and Twitter. And, you know, and to also feel empowered to do something on their own, you know. There's really a lot of strength in numbers. And I think that you see from someone like Jason, when you step out in your own truth, the world changes. So whether that's you, yourself, or you with a bunch of other individuals. So really feel empowered that you do have a voice and that your voice matters. And Jason, do you have anything to tech on to that? No, just to co-sign what we've said as far as, I also saw Eliza last night as well. Listen, I've worked with them in the past and I'm looking forward to working with them in the future, a great organization. I strongly recommend, if you have an opportunity to work with them, you should do so. They're great people, great organization. All right, it looks like we have time for one final question, which we'll take from an audience member in our Vienna viewing party. Over to you, Austria. Hello, John from Vienna. I wonder if either Wade or Jason have ever had to respond to people's criticism on a religious basis. People who say that your lifestyle is sinful. What is your response to that? I'll start that. Okay, Jason. No, because I'm a Christian. I believe in Jesus and I believe that Jesus is all about bringing people together. So when someone attacks me from a religious standpoint, I say Jesus was one of those people in our history, in our lifetime, who brought people together. He never turned away people. All right, I think we lost you there, Jason. Oh, okay. Once again, I want to thank Wade Davis and Jason Collins for joining us today and everyone in our audience for their participation, especially our viewing parties in Warsaw, Vienna, and Prague. We all hope that you've enjoyed this program. And if you've missed any of this conversation today, replay as soon as we are finished here and a recording will be available on the YouTube page showing now. Are you guys there? We're still here? You guys got this? Okay. Wait. I got cut off. Sorry. Jason, if you could just give us your closing remarks, I'll give you your final word here. I know. I just thank you for having me on. It's an honor to work with you guys and to speak with always a pleasure, speaking with Wade. I think we'll do this tomorrow, I believe. This is good practice. So just thank you for having me on and supporting the LGBT community around the world. Thank you, Jason. And Wade, last word. I just want to say thank you all as well for having me on and for having a conversation that's important, that needs to happen, because anytime consciousness can expand, we all grow and get better. So thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen. And thank you to our viewing audience. This program has been brought to you by Kinex.