Can sports help quicken the trend towards gay marriage?

I am of the belief that full acceptance of gay marriage is an inevitability. Much the same way we now see discrimination against a particular race as intolerable, future generations will see discrimination against people based on their sexual preference the same way, at least that's how I think history has played out.

But I read an interesting article that came about as a result of the Sean Avery Pro-Gay Marriage advertisement. He is a pro hockey player. After his video, his agent came out with some particularly nasty statements denouncing him. As a result, athletes in many of the major sports (NFL, NBA, NHL) have announced their support of gay marriage and have created messages of support for gay teens who have been victims of bullying.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=howard/110513

I think having athletes, especially big names, coming out and supporting gay marriage will help remove the negative stigma many men feel about gay marriage and allow them to see the issue for what it is, a basic rights issue. I'm interested to see if this trend continues.

Thoughts?

"Much the same way we now see discrimination against a particular race as intolerable"

Have you not heard of the birthers? The teabaggers? The right is allowing their racism to be out in the open in a way I've not seen in a very long time.

It is a very disturbing trend that people are masking blatant racism under the guise of making a political statement. The worst, in my opinion, are the arguments some who are vehemently against immigration make. It's disgusting.