The 1st Openly Gay NBA player, Jason Collins Passed This Week After a Battle with Glioblastoma

The first openly gay NBA player, Jason Collins passed away this week after a battle with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. He was 47 years old.

Collins played college ball at Stanford and went on to play for 13 seasons in the NBA playing 2001 until his retirement in 2014. Jason played for the Celtics, Nets, Grizzles, Timberwolves, Wizards and Hawks throughout his career.

In 2013, Collins came out by writing a historic, first-person essay for Sports Illustrated. In the piece, he publicly declared, “I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay,” becoming the first active male athlete in any of the four major North American professional team sports to do so.

The family released a statement, “We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma. 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.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver praised Collins’ “impact and influence,” which he said extended far beyond basketball, including helping make the NBA and WNBA “more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”