This piece originally appeared in the Huffington Post

By Mark Osler

This week, Baylor basketball star Brittney Griner made her first public statements about her sexuality, and at least one headline read that this announcement is “no big deal.” In the sports world, that has been true. Griner’s impressive talent and character speak for themselves.

It is a big deal at Baylor. That’s because Baylor, citing its Christian identity, continues to bar gay men and lesbians from employment, and bars active homosexual relationships under its student code of conduct. In the past few years, debate over that policy has grown more heated. (more…)