Matthew De George | SportsGrid
Readers of the Boston Herald were greeted this morning by a personal story from longtime columnist Steve Buckley: that he is gay.
Buckley’s courageous coming out party is the culmination of a long and tearful journey that involves the realization of a promise made to his late mother seven years ago. I won’t ruin the story for you, because I can hardly do it justice.
As of 10 a.m., the article has earned just short of 250 comments, many of which have been overwhelmingly favorable. Many readers have offered support of Buckley’s position, while some maintain his sexual orientation means little for their view of his work: “Gay or straight, I find you annoying on WEEI.” A small amount of comments (less than 10 percent) have been removed from public view by the site’s administrators.
The story has hit Twitter hard and is making its rounds of the journalism community. A number of high profile Twitter accounts have linked to the article and offered their commentary. Keith Olbermann, Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch, ESPN’s Amy K. Nelson, Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel, and The New York Times Judy Battista have all tweeted in support of Buckley, who is one of the topics trending on Twitter in the Boston area.
One of the earliest tweets of the story by Comcast Sports Net New England’s Joe Haggerty has been labeled a “Top Tweet” for it’s frequency of re-tweeting.
Buckley has yet to take to his own Twitter account (@buckinboston), which has laid dormant since the beginning of December. But perhaps no one sums up the prevailing reaction better than this tweet from CBC and Hockey Night In Canada’s Jeff Marek:
It’ll be a great day when ppl like Steve Buckley (Boston Herald) don’t have to write columns like this. Must-read.
– –
Follow me on Twitter @sportsdoctormd
The original version of the story appears here: http://www.sportsgrid.com/media/boston-herald-columnist-comes-out-of-closet-in-column/
SportsGrid covers the personalities, rivalries, media and business behind professional and college sports. For more, visit www.sportsgrid.com. (c) SportsGrid LLC.
