Trickle down effect as high school coach comes out of closet

When soccer player Robbie Rogers and NBA centre Jason Collins recently came out as gay professional athletes, it was hailed by many as a historic time. Barriers had been broken. Attitudes in pro sports dressing rooms were being changed.

One of the less-obvious ramifications of the revelations, though, was a trickle-down effect that Rogers' and Collins' decisions had on gay sports figures at the lower levels. In the latest example, Anthony Nicodemo, the boys' basketball coach at Saunders High School in Yonkers, New York, said Collins' choice to come out as gay had ultimately helped him decide to discuss his own sexuality with his players and their families in a meeting this week.

"What Jason Collins did was allow a conversation to be opened," Nicodemo said. "That day I went into study hall and we had a 45-minute conversation about it. 'How would you feel if one of your teammates came out?' It was really important stuff and I was blown away by how they reacted."

He added: "It was on the tip of my tongue to tell them right then. I almost did. But it just didn't feel right. I wanted to let them process."

Instead, Nicodemo waited until Monday and his decision was highlighted in a feature on Outsports, a website that covers the intersection of gays and sports. Cyd Zeigler, a founder of the site, wrote the article on Nicodemo and said Nicodemo's experience was not unusual; one of the most important aspects of more professional athletes coming out, Zeigler said, was the effect it had on athletes and coaches who are far from the spotlight.

"Look, there are maybe 6,000 athletes playing in professional sports leagues," Zeigler said. "There are 7.5 million athletes playing high school sports. What's going on in high schools and elementary schools is far more important and impactful than the battle with homophobia in pro sports. Collins and Rogers - this aspect of what they did is absolutely critical."