Renowned psychosexual therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer joined HuffPost Live Monday to explain her "mixed feelings" about NBA player Jason Collins coming out as the first openly gay male professional athlete in a major sport.
"I find it very sad," Dr. Ruth told HuffPost Live host Ahmed Shihab-Eldin. "That's why I said that I have mixed feelings, that we even have to talk about it. In my opinion, this is a private matter and everybody has to be respected for who they are."
Dr. Ruth said she fears that Collins' coming out "will put pressure on other people to explain their sexual orientation," calling sexual orientation a "private matter" and adding that she "[doesn't] want anybody to feel the pressure of having to say with whom they'd like to have a relationship or a sexual relationship."
Dr. Ruth said she finds the news "upsetting" because now other people, not just athletes, may "feel that they now have to also say publicly with whom they want to have a relationship."