Former NBA player Jason Collins and his husband, Brunson Green, in Mayfield Park in Austin, Texas, in 2023.Darren Carroll / Sports Illustrated via Getty Images file
Historic Coming Out and Immediate Impact
Jason Collins, a longtime center in the National Basketball Association who became the first man to come out as openly gay while playing in any of America's four leading professional sports leagues, died Tuesday following months of treatment for glioblastoma. His family announced the death through a statement released by the NBA.
The statement said: Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.
Collins made history in 2013 through an essay published in Sports Illustrated. He had been contemplating whether to make his sexuality public since 2011. I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay, he wrote in the essay that captivated the sports world.
His decision was widely praised within and beyond the NBA. Then-President Barack Obama telephoned him to express support, and two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash posted a public message of what he called maximum respect. The Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organisation, described Collins as a groundbreaking figure. He came out as gay while still playing at a time when men's athletes simply did not do that, HRC president Kelley Robinson said in a statement. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.
Athletic Career and Professional Trajectory
Collins was a high school basketball star in Southern California, competing alongside his twin brother, Jarron. Both brothers went on to star at Stanford University before pursuing professional careers. Jason Collins played in the NBA for six teams from 2001 to 2014. Following his retirement from professional basketball, he became an ambassador for the league.
Diagnosis and Final Months
In September, Collins announced he was undergoing treatment for an advanced brain tumour. Symptoms had arrived abruptly, he told ESPN. Last August, only three months after marrying Brunson Greene in Austin, Texas, Collins began experiencing unusual neurological symptoms that included difficulty concentrating while preparing for travel to the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Though initial CT scans were conducted, his condition deteriorated rapidly. Within hours, he said, his mental clarity, short-term memory, and comprehension disappeared. He later described his glioblastoma diagnosis as resembling a monster with tentacles spreading across the underside of his brain the width of a baseball.
Response from the NBA and Sports Community
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a statement Tuesday characterising Collins' impact as extending far beyond basketball. His influence helped make the NBA, WNBA, and the larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations, Silver said in the statement. He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador. Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.
North American Editorial Office: Robin