NYC Sports Radio Host Calls Jason Collins Story 'A Dramatic Attempt To Sell Magazines'

After the story broke that Jason Collins announced he is gay in the upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated, Mike Francesa of WFAN in New York criticized the report as a non-story and appeared to completely miss the point of why people think Collins is important for gay athletes.

When Francesa finally broached the subject in the second hour of his show, he tried to downplay the importance by calling it "a dramatic attempt to sell magazines." Later he noted that there have been "plenty" of gay athletes and that he "doesn't pay that much attention" because it is so common.

Francesa added that he is not even compelled to read the story. "I really don't care," said Francesa. "It means less than nothing to me...I'd rather talk about [the Jets' new] quarterback."

Francesa is clearly missing the point. Nobody is shocked there are gay athletes. For most people making a big deal out of the Collins story, it is more of a celebration that one athlete is willing to take the chance so that others won't have to hide. But Francesa seems to think the story is that there is a gay athlete at all and that somehow the public has been oblivious to this. Here's the video of his comments...