Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, has passed away after a harrowing battle with a brain tumor.
The retired center was 47-years-old and just one year removed from his wedding to film producer Brunson Green.
‘We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,’ the Collins family said in a statement. ‘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.’
Although he remained closeted for much of his career, Collins revealed he was gay to Sports Illustrated in May of 2013 as he languished on the free-agent market.
The following season, his former New Jersey Nets teammate Jason Kidd recruited him to Brooklyn, where Kidd was coaching the newly relocated team.
Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, has passed away after a harrowing battle with a brain tumor. He was just 47 and only a year removed from his wedding to Brunson Green
Although he remained closeted for much of his career, Collins revealed he was gay in May of 2013 as he languished on the free-agent market. The Nets signed him the next season
On February 23, 2014, Collins signed a 10-day contract with the team and in doing so, became the league’s first openly gay player. He’d remain with the Nets for the rest of the season before retiring the following November.
Collins’ No. 98 jersey quickly became one of the league’s hottest items in 2014. He later revealed he chose the number to honor Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who was was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie, Wyoming in 1998.
Although some accused the team of signing Collins to attract liberal fans in Brooklyn, the Nets’ front office insisted the move was a ‘basketball decision,’ and his teammates and coaches quickly agreed.
‘Toughness, rebounding the ball, being professional,’ Kidd said of Collins. ‘He brings a lot to the table for us.’
He also became symbol for gay sports fans, many of whom felt under represented by the leagues they follow.
Jared Max, a gay New York-area sports radio personality, told The Wall Street Journal at the time the signing was a turning point in the industry.
‘There aren’t just cracks in the dam,’ Max said. ‘There are places where water is flowing right through.’
Collins is seen at his wedding to Brunson Green. In the background is Jason’s twin, Jarron
Collins became the NBA’s first openly gay player when he came out in 2013 in an open letter
His partner, Green, is a Hollywood movie producer and earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination for the movie ‘The Help.’
The couple even had one of the stars at their wedding.
Octavia Spencer posted a picture of the happy couple walking down the aisle, captioning it: ‘Welcome to the family @jasoncollins_98. You’ve chosen well, and so has he! Love you, B!’
Collins and Green were together since 2014, not long after he announced his retirement from the NBA. They reportedly got engaged in 2023 at the Los Angeles Lakers Pride Night.
When Collins first came out, he also became the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sports.
‘When I was younger, I dated women,’ he wrote at the time. ‘I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her.
‘I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.’
As well as playing for the Nets, Collins represented the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.
The 7-foot center was a First-team All-Pac 10 selection in 2001 and later played a pivotal role on two Nets teams that advanced to the NBA Finals.
He was also a favorite teammate of Kidd’s, the Hall-of-Fame point guard who remained supportive of Collins before and after he came out of the closet.
‘Jason’s sexuality doesn’t change the fact that he is a great friend and was a great teammate,’ Kidd wrote on social media in 2013.
