not you in particular, but someone named glenn burke -- >> actually, i'm not glenn burke, but i used to play basketball with him. i didn't know if you'd know who he was. >> oh. really? you said that as kind of a cute little thing. >> thank you. >> on television. thank you. [laughter] glenn burke, a whole part of the book about glenn burke because there's a chapter about lgbt athlete, and glenn burke was someone who was in the 1970s was out of the closet to his teammates. he played baseball to the dodgers, credited with inventing the high-five. [laughter] and he, and he made the mistake of having a relationship with, um, the nature of that relationship is up for debate, but it was definitely a relationship with tommy lasorda's gay son while he was playing for the dodgers, and that got him quickly removed from the sport. so he was out to his teammates but never out in the media as an active player, and we still do not have a male player in the four major sports who's ever been out in a public way. so i talk about glenn and his struggle and what he did in the book. but what was your que

remember glenn burke, back in the 70s, and how people ostracized him.was on the oakland, and also the dodgers, he was with them. and the dodger management offered him $75,000 to get married to a woman, to cover up his homosexuality. and it was just horrendous, the life that glenn burke had to put up with because he was so honest and forthright, and he was the jackie robinson of our rights, of the gay issues. and no one listened to him. and he died very, very young air, broken person. so i don't-- i don't think people realize back in the-- before really now, in the last few years, and martina can talk about it as well-- is that people really made it difficult. it was so shame based. we have to get rid of the fact that it's shame based. and jason collins coming out is helping with that. i talked to him on friday and he said it was so surreal the way he's been treated and how wonderful it's been for him. and i'm just so happy for him. he sounded so happy. in fact, friday night he said he was going out on his first date where he felt like a free man. so i j

. >> there is a whole part of the book about glenn burke. and glenn burke was someone who in the 1970s was out of the closet to his teammates, played baseball for the dodgers and invented the high 5 and he made the mistake of having a relationship with the nature of that relationship is up for debate. and while he was playing for the dodgers, removed from sports, sellout for his teammates but never in the media as an active player. and what was your question? >> and the starting points, to blow the old thing up as a starting point so figuratively blowing and up, blow the whole thing up and start over. talk to somebody who is not from this country and state institutions of higher learning, for major-league baseball or nfl franchise, that is crazy and it is absolutely crazy. this was something w. e. b. du bois was talking about a century ago and it is cute and claimed to read what he had to say. it is an outrage that the football team at yale this seven times the money as the english department and you are like that is so cute, seven times. th

glenn burke, an out fielder in the '70s.ck men or men who are athletes to come out is qualitatively different. despite some of the hoe mow -- one -- lay that one on the table before we go to commercial. >> a lot of people were excited about this announcement. >> this is -- look, the fact is that we are i think as you point out, matt, we're in a place where things are going fast and a lot of us want to go faster. wade, thank you for joining us from chicago. and thank you for your work with youth. it does absolutely make pay difference. >> thank you so much, melissa. >> thanks to everybody at the table here. to jelani and ang marie and matt and kai. i have a footnote that we have all been extremely excited about in nerdland. i'm turning my footnote over to an extraordinary spoken word artist. [ dentist ] with so many toothbrushes to choose from, my patients don't know which one to use. i tell them to use the brand i use. oral-b -- the brush originally created by a dentist. trust the brand more dentists and hygienists use. oral