"“No one wants to live in fear,” Collins wrote. “I've always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don't sleep well. I never have. But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger and sleep a little more soundly. It takes an enormous amount of energy to guard such a big secret. I've endured years of misery and gone to enormous lengths to live a lie. I was certain that my world would fall apart if anyone knew. And yet when I acknowledged my sexuality I felt whole for the first time.”"
"He was the first openly gay, active male athlete in one of the four big sports leagues-NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL-in North America. Collins came out in 2013, in a beautiful first-person essay written alongside journalist Franz Lidz in Sports Illustrated. The boldness of Collins's statement was also due to its timing. He was a free agent at the tail end of his career and was taking a risk that he would never play again."
"What team would be the first to sign a gay player? Especially when they could hide behind his advanced age (34) to dodge charges of homophobia? After waiting for 50 games, the Brooklyn Nets finally called, signing him in 2014. Upon joining the team, he wore number 98 in tribute to Matthew Shepard, the gay teen tortured and murdered in a horrific hate crime in 1998."
Jason Collins, a former NBA player, died at age 47 after cancer. He played 13 years in the league and had an All-American college career at Stanford alongside his twin brother, Jarron. Collins came out in 2013 in a first-person essay, describing fear of saying the wrong thing, years of misery from hiding his sexuality, and feeling whole after acknowledging it. His decision carried professional risk because he was a late-career free agent and teams might avoid backlash. After 50 games, the Brooklyn Nets signed him in 2014. He wore number 98 to honor Matthew Shepard, a gay teen murdered in 1998.
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