In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, the NBA’s Jason Collins became the first active player in any of the big four sports (baseball, football, basketball, and hockey) to announce he was gay. His opening sentence: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”

Toward the end of his must-read story, Collins, a 7-foot, 255-pounder who has played for six teams in his 11-year pro career, ponders the fallout from his announcement:

I’ve been asked how other players will respond to my announcement. The simple answer is, I have no idea. I’m a pragmatist. I hope for the best, but plan for the worst. The biggest concern seems to be that gay players will behave unprofessionally in the locker room. Believe me, I’ve taken plenty of showers in 12 seasons. My behavior wasn’t an issue before, and it won’t be one now. My conduct won’t change. I still abide by the adage, “What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room.” I’m still a model of discretion.

Here’s a look at what some people—some NBA players, some not—had to say about Collins on Monday…

Fatwas have caught the fancy of the people worldwide and is popularly used by media, to project Islam as a misogynist religion with impractical restrictions. Zakir Naik, in his speech on the subject, explains why Muslims or Ulemas should not be giving so much importance to Sania Mirza’s dress code. Naik speaks about the importance of “diluting” the global effect of labeling Sania Mirza’s dress code as Haraam for the sake of a positive representation of Islam in the media. He further says that she is a “lesser sinner” than Muslim male cricketers who do not offer Salah at all. However, he also mentions her world ranking is “only” 34th and doesn’t deserve all the attention it is garnering.

In another related article, Dr Mookhi Amir Ali, while stating that he has better work to do than follow Sania Mirza’s career, goes onto say that she should have used her stature, as a successful Muslim woman, to question the short skirts and bring modesty into the game. She also should have worn a wrap right after the game was over, or chose not to wear the tennis dress, in all the advertisements she was featured in–the very advertisements which chose to feature her because she was a tennis star. The only attribute which will make her a good Muslim, according to him, is if she brought about any changes in the accepted “dress codes” for women in professional tennis.

Sadly, in the Islamic world, a Muslim woman’s piety is often closely related to her dress code. If she misses a prayer or a fast, not many go berserk as they would if she doesn’t wear a hijab. Does being a good Muslim woman begin and end with a hijab? Are Muslim women defined only by their modest dress codes alone? By mentioning that she is a “lesser” sinner, and by repeatedly saying that “at least” she offers Salah, Naik, while diluting some of the hype around her clothing, still suggests there’s a sense of shame in Sania Mirza being Muslim.

I hope you understand that you follow in a long tradition of sexist institutions that have told women and girls, particularly those of color, that they are inadequate and ugly; that they are undesirable, and so disgusting that they should not even be in public. This was the message you sent to Taylor and millions of other girls. If you can’t get this idea through your thick privileged skull, head over to Sports Illustrated to read the words of Courtney Nguyen.

Maybe the USTA needs a few more women in its ranks (as suggested by Lindsey Davenport); maybe its men should check their racial and gender privilege at the locker room. You have a training program for that? Given her ample success on the court, I can’t help but think your sexist shaming has NOTHING to do with her play on the court; your claims for concern about her “health” are absurd and offensive. This all seems to reflect your desire to produce a profitable commodity. Do you think she can only be successful if she wins titles and covers of Maxim? Are you searching for a great tennis player…or a body to market to men throughout the nation? Irrespective of your intent, your methods and message are disgusting.

Is it just a coincidence that the two girls/women who have been chastised, ridiculed and demonized for their weight, for their body, for their appearance, are both African-American? Did that even cross your mind? It is hard to look at this as anything but racism and sexism, as yet another African-American tennis phenomenon dominating the White world of tennis only to face unfair criticism. Yet another Black female tennis player being reduced to her body parts, prodded, and examine as if her worth and value could be measured by your hands. To get back on the court, will you examine her, checking to see if she meets your expectations? Disgusting.

Given the history realities of racism within sports culture, which we have discussed in the past, not to mention the deep and persistent racism of the DC football franchise, and given the longstanding barriers faced by the black quarterback his comments are instructive–up to a point. Griffin, as an African American athlete, as a black quarterback, will invariably face unfair criticism.

One has to look no further than the questions and media coverage afforded to Carolina rookie QB Cam Newton or the “low q ratings”endured by the modern black athlete, or even the distinct ways pundits characterize the play and potential of Andrew Luck and Griffin. In fact, “Q” ratings are very revealing in that, despite the visibility, cultural power, and athletic success of the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, and others, the most popular black athletes also are the most hated.

Bayless’ comments demonstrate the ways in which sports function as a historic site for the validation of white masculinity. The quarterback position more than any position is the embodiment of this heroic white manhood. The arrival of Newton, and the potential superstardom of Griffin poses a threat to the meaning of whiteness, to its meaning to future generations of white male youth who no longer have white bodies, chiseled and physically dominant, to emulate and imitate but instead are finding role models amongst black superstars.

Questions about the racial demographics of women’s athletics, whether in that recent domination by the Williams sisters in tennis, or the racial make-up of the WNBA, rarely take on the level of interest or possess the same meaning as those regarding male athletics because the supposed loss of white male athlete isn’t just about sports, or even fans, but rather an imagined threat to self, community, and the nation.

In other words, white desire to cheer for and elevate white superstars is not a benign or natural process. Had Bayless simply said that that Griffin would likely face unfair criticism because of media and fan racism, a fact worsened by the allure and narrative appeal provided by his white counterparts at the position.

Yet, Bayless didn’t frame his analysis in those terms, instead imagining white desire for and identification with a white quarterback as natural. Arguing that racial recognition and connection is “part of human nature,” Bayless ostensibly advances a narrative of race as a natural fact, rooted in biology, while implying that racial preferences and even racism might be best understood as evolutionary adaptations.

In equalizing fan allegiance to racial identity, Bayless normalizes race, yet again erasing the ways that anti-black, anti-Latino, or anti-Asian racism animates sporting cultures (see here for more examples). In doing so, he erases the team’s own sordid racist history as well as the dehumanizing name “R*dskins.” The history of the franchise itself and sports as a whole illustrates that racism is neither natural nor omnipresence but reflected in the logics of white supremacy.