Jason Collins made his return to the NBA Sunday, suiting up for the Brooklyn Nets after signing a ten-day contract with the team who was looking to add a player to help with rebounding and defense.

Collins finished Sunday’s game at the Staple Center against the Los Angeles Lakers with no points, but played 11 minutes in the win.

In the post-game press conference, media (much more than who would have usually been at a regular season NBA game) swarmed to cover the historic day in sports.

ESPN’s Sportscenter program made Collins’ presence the focal point of its coverage when showing the highlights of the game. There was also discussion and analysis throughout the show on his impact, not only of the game, on sports as a whole.

The Internet began to bring up the point of if we really are going to treat gay and lesbian people “just like anybody else,” then why does Collins deserve so much attention?

His performance wasn’t that spectacular. Brooklyn’s Deron Williams, who scored 30 points that night, was much more instrumental in the Nets win than Collins.

I think we need to take a step back here and take a look at a few things. First, sometimes I think when people complain about how ESPN talks about the same things over and over again on Sportscenter, they don’t realize that they’re watching the same episode on repeat, only with different anchors.

A big misconception, but one that I’ve been guilty of doing. The transitions are sneaky and well played. It’s probably what keeps you from turning the channel. It’s good marketing, and I can admit, I’ve fallen for it.

More importantly, I see the point that, yes, in our progressive, ever accepting, forward thinking society in the year 2014, a gay athlete, theoretically speaking, shouldn’t be a big deal. We’re past the point where a person’s sexual orientation should matter. Oh, so-and-so is gay? We shrug our shoulders and keep moving, or at least I think that’s the way we think that we think.

In the future (a future that I do not think is too far away), I can totally see a gay athlete not being a big deal. He or she checks into the game, or comes off the sidelines, and they’re just any other player, but this is different. Collins is the first to do so, and this is certainly history. We should acknowledge it, and yes, it should be covered.

Eventually, this stuff won’t be news to us, but right now, it is, and it’s perfectly OK for it to be.

Dominic Renzetti is a senior family and consumer sciences major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].