http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/03/08/jim-tressel-would-embrace-an-openly-gay-buckeye/Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel did something recently that shouldn't be a very big deal -- but is a big deal, at least symbolically: He granted an interview to
Outlook Columbus, a magazine that caters to the area's gay community.
The interview (which you can see here) is, according to the magazine, the first interview ever granted by a Division I football coach to a gay-themed publication. And in it Tressel says that he'd welcome a gay football player at Ohio State, noting that he wants nothing more from his players than for them to feel comfortable being who they are.
"We try to tell our guys that an authentic you is the best you," Tressel told the magazine. "That's truly what freedom means, and the beauty of living in America. People can live their beliefs."
Dan Wetzel of Yahoo notes that there were more than 10,000 NCAA football players in America last year, and not one of them was publicly, openly gay. Not because there aren't any gay football players, but because college football hasn't yet reached the point where a gay player would feel welcomed when discussing his homosexuality openly.
Tressel's comments could go a long way toward changing that. Every gay high school football player now knows there's at least one big-time college program where he could be himself. That's progress, and something for which Tressel deserves a great deal of credit.
