The Art of Coming Out

Abstract

On April 29, 2013, Jason Collins became the first male to come out as gay as an active member in a professional team sport. This study examines two prongs of the media response to the Collins announcement, analyzing 364 newspaper articles and 7,556 tweets covering the first week of coverage of Collins’ decision to make his sexual orientation public. Results showed an overwhelmingly positive yet bifurcated response between the two media platforms. Comparisons between media platforms and ramifications for theory and the increasingly public role of sexual orientation are offered.