People often write to me expressing their dissatisfaction with President Obama and his policies. They also like to write to me asking how I will do things differently if I am elected president in 2016. For example, they ask whether I would have taken the time to call Jason Collins after he "came out" - becoming the first openly gay active player in the NBA. The answer is a definite "yes." I would have called him immediately. And here is what I would have been able to say to the White House Press corps if later asked about our conversation:
"I told Jason I could have been much prouder of him. One of the extraordinary measures of social regression that we have seen in this country has been the insistence that the interests of the LGBT community be interjected into every aspect of American life. Now, the agenda is even present in kindergarten sex education classes in Massachusetts. At first, it was placed there by those who insisted that such educational classes would be fully optional for objecting parents. Now, parents who show up at these schools objecting to the sexualization of their children are threatened with prosecution for trespass. None of this would be happening if homosexuals were content to live their lives privately and peacefully without imposing their agenda upon those who respectfully disagree with them.
"I reminded Jason that everyone deserves full equality. But I also reminded Jason that the so-called LGBT community already has full equality, not just partial equality. For example, he had a right to marry his fiancé of seven years. But just because he decided to relinquish that right, it does not mean the courts need to create a new right for him to exercise. The polygamists tried that in the 1800s and the Supreme Court rightly said ‘no’ to their legal arguments. Given that there is far greater historical acceptance of polygamy than so-called gay marriage, he has no broad right to marry anyone he chooses. So I urged Jason not to use his newfound platform to push this issue. I will have more to say about substitutionary rights - the idea that when you relinquish a right, you get to select a new one - in a future press conference. But now back to Jason.
"I also told him that I was disappointed that the LGBT community was no longer seeking tolerance, but instead seeking acquiescence to the notion that their lifestyle is every bit as healthy as the traditional American family. Of course, that is simply absurd. I reminded him that even Elton John recently recognized that his adopted son would suffer because he had no 'mummy.' I urged Jason to avoid gay adoption as it was not in the interests of the child - although it might be an effective publicity stunt once his first round of media adoration has subsided.
"Given the importance of sports in our society, for an individual who's been mediocre at best in one of those major sports to suddenly say 'This is who I am. I'm proud of it. I'm still a great competitor. I'm still seven foot tall and deliver a hard foul' was simply a distraction. I think for a lot of young people out there who are confused and who are struggling with these issues, to see a role model like that who is interjecting sex into sports, well, it's just not a good thing. I think America should be concerned that this is just one more stunt reinforcing this ongoing illusion that we do not treat everybody fairly, and that we judge people on the basis of their sex life rather than their character and their job performance. We can't judge them on the basis of those things if they keep interjecting sex into the workplace. That just isn't right. So, I'm very displeased with Jason and I told him that.
"Over the course of his career, Jason has averaged less than five points a game and made less than two-thirds of his free throws. The fact that he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated merely because of the fact that he likes to have sex with men is just embarrassing. There are far better and more deserving athletes who will never be featured on the cover of a major sports magazine. What a shame he got there the easy way by 'coming out' rather than coming to the gym to work on his foul shots.
"I told Jason, what is most notable about his recent conduct is his lack of courage. He lived a lie and misled a nice woman for seven years. Only after it became politically correct to be gay - and when anyone on the NBA was assured a six-digit fine for criticizing him - did he come forward. I've never seen a seven foot man act so small.
Jason has taught young people to do easy things, not hard things, in order to win the affection of others. He has taught them that they are to be judged, not by the content of their character, but by the many colors of the banner of sexual political correctness. That will be the legacy of Jason Collins. I wish he had thought of the long term consequences of his decisions before he made them. Whether we like it or not, an athlete is a role model. Others are watching. And that is something I plan to talk about again in my next White House Press Conference.
"Now, does anyone have any questions about the economy? This country is in serious debt and we’ve already wasted too much time on an over-paid, aging athlete who is neither a victim nor a hero.”
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