‘I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.’
Former Nets center Jason Collins' coming out is compared with Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in baseball
WASHINGTON — With the simplest of sentences, NBA veteran Jason Collins set aside years of worry and silence to become the first active player in one of four major U.S. professional sports leagues to come out as gay.
In a first-person article posted Monday on Sports Illustrated‘s website, Collins begins: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”
Collins has played for six teams in 12 seasons — including the New Jersey Nets — most recently as a reserve with the Washington Wizards after a midseason trade from the Boston Celtics. He is now a free agent and wants to keep playing in the NBA.