In one of the four major U.S. sports leagues, the NBA, Jason Collins becomes the first active player to admit to being a gay man.
“I’m a 34-year old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay,” Jason Collins said in Sports Illustrated.
Jason Collins has played in a total of two NBA Finals and been a part of six different pro teams including the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and Washington Wizards.
One could say Jason Collins has been just about everyone’s teammate at one point in time.
Jason is a very brave man for coming out during an active time in the NBA. Many people do not understand why Collins would come out at such a rare time.
The main reason Collins came out was because of the NBA lockout that occurred. Collins talked about his reasons in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“But the lockout wreaked havoc on my habits and forced me to confront who I really am and what I really want,” Collins said.
By “habits” Jason is referring to hardcore workouts and training sessions preformed to be physically ready for the NBA season.
Jason then first confronted his Aunt Teri about the matter, and she made him feel more comfortable in his own skin, for a change, than he ever did before.
Furthermore, the recent tragedy that struck the Boston Marathon played a major role in Collins’s decision to come out. The bombing in Boston awoke Collins to not wait for a perfect time to come out but just to do the right thing.
Collins explained, “Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?”
