Jon Stewart Talks Jason Collins Coming Out

“If you follow the world of sports and/or homosexuality, yesterday brought major news in both,” said Jon Stewart on “The Daily Show” Tuesday night.

Stewart was of course referring to NBA player Jason Collins coming out as gay — Collins being the first to do so in a major U.S. team sport.

So an NBA player came out. “Queue the haters,” Stewart said, snapping his fingers.

But it turned out that a lot of people publically — and rather quickly — voiced their support for Collins: President Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Kobe Bryant, NBA Commissioner David Stern, and many others.

“All in all, it’s a pretty great day for major league sports,” Stewart said, adding that it’s nice that gay people are finally allowed to be included in the “elite” club of professional sports — a club that for generations had allowed “adulterers, wife swappers, gamblers, cheaters, rapists, racists … those who’ve abused spouses, drugs, alcohol, family members, and animals.” For each of these a photo — Tiger Woods, Mike Tyson, Babe Ruth, and Michael Vick, just to name a few — popped up on the screen. And the screen got pretty crowded.

So considering the kinds of people that populate professional sports, Stewart, with a sly smirk, addressed gay athletes: “You sure you want to hang out with these f—ing people?”

Also: Wearing a purple suit, Jason Jones reported on how Collins could have come out with “a little more flair.”

Check out the clip below, courtesy of Comedy Central:  

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