HyperVocal editor-in-chief Slade Sohmer joined Stand Up! with Pete Dominick on Tuesday morning to discuss Jason Collins’ coming out and what it means for LGBT equality. Sandwiched between all the serious stuff — like important allies and societal progress — Slade and Pete found time to discuss some lighthearted moments, historical matters and more.

Do you know the inventor of the high-five was a gay pro baseball player who got blackballed from the sport? Do you know how many states there are where cousins can get married but gays can’t? Do you know Pete can rub his bald head in oil and rub it on anyone he likes, straight or gay? It’s all part of this fairly serious analysis of an important sports milestone. READ MORE.

Source: SoundCloud / Slade Sohmer

ESPN knew all this. And yet, during the network’s ONLY show that is supposed to prioritize reporting over clucking punditry, executives threw Broussard to the wolves (and Broussard was likely more than happy to be the wolf food). Why? Because now the story *is* ESPN. Now it’s not about SI’s exclusive. Now it’s about Collins, Broussard and ESPN.

The Worldwide Leader has long subscribed to the theory that no press is bad press, and this is not bad press. And like idiots, all of us are tweeting and discussing ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN. Mission accomplished.

Read this take on Broussard/ESPN/Collins here.
NBA Center Jason Collins comes out as gay, becomes first openly gay player in a major American professional sport.  Collins is not on an active roster, and he’s far from an NBA star. But this opens the closet door. It may be a trickle at first, but the flood will begin soon enough. Nobody wants to be first. But nobody will want to be the last either. This is a big day for American sports, a big day for the LGBT community, and the biggest day of all-time for all those young gay athletes out there who finally have a legit role model, and who will have many more to come.
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NBA Center Jason Collins comes out as gay, becomes first openly gay player in a major American professional sport. 

Collins is not on an active roster, and he’s far from an NBA star. But this opens the closet door. It may be a trickle at first, but the flood will begin soon enough. Nobody wants to be first. But nobody will want to be the last either. This is a big day for American sports, a big day for the LGBT community, and the biggest day of all-time for all those young gay athletes out there who finally have a legit role model, and who will have many more to come.

Even LL Cool J threw his friend Brad Paisley under the [back of the] bus when the heat of “Accidental Racist” started a million-blog fire on race in America. Nobody wants a piece of this action any more. Except, that is, Stephen Colbert, who said on Wednesday night’s program, “This level of unifying suckage has inspired me to write my own awful song in the hopes of bridging another deep cultural rift in America: the gay marriage divide.” WATCH THE HILARIOUS VIDEO HERE. 
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Even LL Cool J threw his friend Brad Paisley under the [back of the] bus when the heat of “Accidental Racist” started a million-blog fire on race in America. Nobody wants a piece of this action any more. Except, that is, Stephen Colbert, who said on Wednesday night’s program, “This level of unifying suckage has inspired me to write my own awful song in the hopes of bridging another deep cultural rift in America: the gay marriage divide.” WATCH THE HILARIOUS VIDEO HERE.