Gays in sports DO NOT deserve approval

"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion... Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." - Romans 1:26-27, 32

In his editorial, "Gays in sports deserve approval," columnist Benjamin Hochman writes:

"In the years leading up to Jackie Robinson playing Major League Baseball, and throughout his career, there was huge resistance within the sport to an African-American playing in the majors. Others wondered that if, by the time their grandchildren grew up, attitudes would change. And they did. Things are different. In 2013, some people, some athletes themselves, feel gays have no place in team sports. You might be one who thinks that. But I'll tell you this: By the time your grandchildren grow up, things will be different."

I have often heard the plight of African-Americans, myself being one, compared to that of homosexuals. Since when did the complexion of your skin become the same as a person choosing to have unnatural sex with a person of the same gender? Jackie Robinson, as well as any African-American who faced or faces racial discrimination, had no choice in determining what skin color they would be born with. Earlier in his editorial, Hochman asks the reader a question:

"Let's say he (your favorite athlete) announces that he's gay. You loved the guy yesterday. Well, he's the same guy today. Same guy. So it seems, you've been loving a gay athlete all along. So shouldn't you still love him today? He's the same player."

Notice how he says your favorite athlete "announces that he's gay"? If someone needs to "announce" something, it pretty much means that those who are listening were unaware of this person's sexual preference before the announcement. I could be wrong, but I am not aware of Jackie Robinson ever "announcing" he was African-American, Black or Negro. African-Americans do not have to "come out" and announce their race. African-Americans do not to have have parades announcing their skin color to the world. Ultimately, the reason people try to equate the "struggle" homosexuals have in society with that of African-Americans is because they believe that homosexuals are "born" homosexual and, thus, like African-American's have no choice in the matter. Therefore, society should accept them the same way that society has accepted African-Americans. Hence, the reference to the reader's future grandchildren living in a world that accepts homosexuals in the same way it now accepts African-Americans. 

However, there is one more problem the author fails to address. According to the website for "People Can Change, " there is more than "50 years of research, including 48 studies ...," showing "data and published accounts documenting easily more than 3,000 cases of change from homosexual to heterosexual attraction, identity and functioning." There are zero cases of change from one skin color to another that I am aware of. Just one more piece of evidence that advocates for the homosexual lifestyle fail to address.

Finally, and this is just an observation I believe needs to be addressed, is the broad sweeping generalizations made by Hochman and one of the professional athletes he uses in his editorial. Hochman says:

"Many Americans are homophobic."

And later he quotes NBA player, Kenneth Faried, who was raised by two lesbians. Hochman asked Faried what would the atmosphere be like if an NBA player announced he was gay? Faried replied:

"I think the teammates would accept it but wouldn't like it," he said. "I think some people would be tentative on the court, because basketball is a physical sport, with all the touching and stuff, and people would feel awkward more than accept it. ... It would be tough. ... Fans would be outlandish and say crazy things and write crazy things on signs, being disrespectful to the athlete because he is gay — which is so negative and wrong, but it's how life is."

I thought we were supposed to live in age of "tolerance" and "acceptance." Yet, Hochman and Faried have no problem saying many "Americans are homophobic" and that NBA players and fans would "feel awkward more than accept it" and be "outlandish and say crazy things and write crazy things on signs, being disrespectful..." What they are doing is setting up a scenario in which people who do not support the homosexual lifestyle are demonized and those who are homosexual or support it can play the victim. Not once does Hochman tell us what his standard of truth is that is the foundation for his belief that homosexuals in sports should be approved. My standard of truth for disagreeing with the lifestyle is the Bible. God is clear in His disdain for the act and for those who condone and approve of it. So, it is not homophobia, but the Lord who does not approve of the behavior. If in fact there are homosexuals in sports who are "in the closet," they have apparently gotten along just fine without the world knowing of their private sexual habits. Why do I need to know them if not to force me to agree to a lifestyle that a majority of Americans find sinful and destructive? There was a time when the grandchildren of a past generation agreed with their grandparents generation regarding the sinfulness of homosexuality and did not approve of it.  We can always pray that by the time the grandchildren of this generation grow up things will be back to the way they used to be and sin was acknowledged as sin.