Media should drop the hyperbole and focus on news

As the world knows by now, Jason Collins is a much-traveled, mediocre professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards -- his sixth team.

Until last week, Collins was far from a household name, to put it mildly.

But Collins -- with much fanfare -- announced he is a gay athlete, which marked a "first" in men's professional sports for an active player.

It was not the announcement itself that garnered my attention. But the fawning national media compared the announcement to the Second Coming in a nonstop attempt to portray the revelation as one of the more important announcements in sports history.

It was not.

The president, in an all-too-expected fashion, went to extraordinary lengths to congratulate the "courageous" athlete. One ESPN talking head compared Collins to Jackie Robinson in the history of sports -- which was an unbelievable and pathetic comparison to put it mildly.

The first lady quickly grabbed Collins for a fundraiser.

So what am I missing?

For weeks now, the sports world has been abuzz with the rumor of a group of professional athletes making similar announcements.

Thus far, Collins stands alone but probably not for long.

I honestly thought we had moved far beyond the "shock" of prominent people announcing their sexual orientation.

Entertainers, politicians of all stripes, business leaders, etc. -- everyone from school kids to seniors can easily provide a list of those who have taken similar paths.

In short, coming out of the closet is so 1980s.

I won't make a moral judgment on Collins because that is his decision. But I will make a judgment on the media that clearly has an agenda. And if that agenda wasn't abundantly clear before, the Collins announcement put it front and center.

I'm uncertain whether the national media has completely lost touch with the majority of the American public or whether it's the other way around.

When so much attention is focused on what appears to be a minor event, it further deteriorates the last remnants of trust we hold in the national media.

We wish Jason Collins good luck and great fortune. His public decision will surely change his life.

But more importantly, we wish the national media would drop the hyperbole and focus on news of relevance and importance.