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NBAplayerstepsoutoftheclosetandintothehistory
books
By
KatieMorell
05.07.13

JasonCollins,aprofessionalbasketballplayer,cameoutasagaymanthisweekinanessayhe
wrotefor
SportsIllustrated.
Newsspreadquicklyasthemagnitudeoftheannouncementsetin:Collinswillforeverbeknown
asthefirstactiveplayerinoneofthefourmajorU.S.professionalsportstocomeoutofthe
closet.Everynewsstationinthecountrypickedupthestory,quotinghismagazineessay,which
began,I'ma34yearoldNBAcenter.I'mblack.AndI'mgay.Ididntsetouttobethefirst
openlygayathleteplayinginamajorAmericanteamsport.ButsinceIam,Imhappytostartthe
conversation.
CollinshasplayedforsixdifferentNBAteams,includingtheBostonCelticsandtheAtlanta
Hawks.
Inthenearly3,000wordessay,Collinsexplainedthathefirstknewhewasgaywhenhewasjust
12yearsoldandhistwinbrotherwasdevelopinganinterestintheoppositesex.
Icouldntidentifywithhisattractiontogirls,hewrote.Healsoexplainedthatheneverfeltas
wholeasapersonaswhenhecameouttohisaunt,ajudgeinSanFrancisco.Herreactionwas
warmandlovingandfromthenon,heknewhewouldalwayshavesupport.
BombingsTriggeredDecision
ThetragicbombingsduringtheBostonMarathononApril15partiallyinspiredCollinstomake
hisannouncement.Theincident,ReinforcedthenotionthatIshouldntwaitforthe
circumstancesofmycomingouttobeperfect.Thingscanchangeinaninstant,sowhynotlive
truthfully?Collinswrote.

TherecentSupremeCourtfightforgayrightsalsoweighedheavilyonCollinsmind.Thestrain
ofhidinghissexualitywasalmosttoomuchforhimtobearinMarchwhenthehighcourtheard
argumentsonrightsforhomosexualindividuals.
Collinsdecidedtocomeoutbecauseofanoticeableshiftinpublicopinion.Moreandmore,
Americansseemtobeincreasinglytolerantofgayrights,hesaidinhisessay.RhodeIsland
becamethetenthU.S.statetolegalizegaymarriageonThursday.NowallsixNewEngland
statesallowsamesexcouplestowed.Delawarebecamethe11thstatetodosoonTuesday.
Westillhavesomuchfarthertogo,hewrote.Everyoneisterrifiedoftheunknown,butmost
ofusdontwanttoreturntoatimewhenminoritieswereopenlydiscriminatedagainst.
PositivePublicReaction
Sincethereleaseofhis
SportsIllustrated
essay,Collinshasreceivedanoutpouringofpositive
support.Justhoursafterthestorybroke,hereceivedacallfromPresidentBarackObama
commendinghimonhiscourage.
Heseemslikeaterrificyoungman,andItoldhimIcouldntbeprouder,thePresidenttold
CNN.
Oneoftheextraordinarymeasuresofprogressthatweveseeninthiscountryhasbeen
therecognitionthattheLGBTcommunitydeservesfullequalitynotjustpartialequality,not
justtolerance,butarecognitionthattheyrefullyapartoftheAmericanfamily.
Collinswrotethathewasntsurewhatthereactionofhisfellowbasketplayerswouldbe.Butif
thenewsthisweekhasbeenanyindication,hehasnothingtoworryabout.NBAstarsKobe
BryantandSteveNashoftheLosAngelesLakerswenttoTwittertoshowtheirsupport.
Bryanttweeted,Proudof@jasoncollins34.Dontsuffocatewhourbecauseoftheignoranceof
otherswhileNashwrote:Thetimehascome.Maximumrespect.
Breakingstereotypes
Collinshasprovedtobeanaggressiveandphysicalplayeronthecourtoverhis12seasonsasa
professionalbasketballplayer.Inthe20042005seasonalone,heledtheNBAwith322fouls.
Asheexplainsinhisessay,thisaggressivebehaviorgoesagainststereotypesofgaymen.
Imnotafraidtotakeonanyopponent.Igoagainstthegaystereotype,whichiswhyIthinka
lotofplayerswillbeshocked:
That
guyisgay?ButIvealwaysbeenanaggressiveplayer,even
inhighschool,hewrites.
First,ButNottheLast
AmongeditorialsfollowingCollinsdeclaration,onepennedbyMichaelRosenbergof
Sports
Illustrated
standsout.HewritesthatwhileCollinsmaybethefirstprofessionalathletetocome
out,hewillnotbethelast.

Heck,somedaywemayevenargueaboutwhetherhewasfirst,wroteRosenberg.Jason
Collinsisatrailblazer.Butinthenextfewyears,thattrailwillgetawfullycrowded.
HesharesCollinsviewthatmostAmericansarecomingaroundtotheideaofgayrightsand
thatwidespreadtoleranceisjustaroundthecorner.
RosenbergalsoaddressessomecriticsonbehalfofCollins,includinganNFLplayerwho
tweetedanegativeremarkfollowingCollinsannouncement.Rosenbergnotedthatnotonlydid
thetweetingfootballplayerreceiveamountainofangrybacklash,butalsothathedeletedhis
tweetandpubliclyapologizeforhiscomments.
He[Collins]didnthavetorespondpeoplerespondedforhim,Rosenbergsaid.
AchievingHappiness
OnTuesdaymorning,CollinssatdownwithGeorgeStephanopoulosof
GoodMorningAmerica
todiscusstheannouncement.Smiling,hetoldStephanopoulos,Ithink,Iknow,inmypersonal
life,Imready,andIthinkthecountryisreadyforsupportinganopenlygaybasketballplayer.
IknowthatI,rightnow,amthehappiestthatIveeverbeeninmylife.