Jason Colls first openly gay active player - ESPN

Contents:

• HERE ARE THE 6 GAY MEN WHO HAVE BEEN OUT PUBLICLY WHILE PETG PRO BASKETBALL
• JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY
• THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY
• A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS
• THE 77 WNBA PLAYERS THAT HAVE COME OUT AS GAY LBIAN, TRANS OR NON-BARY
• FORMER NBA, KENTUCKY PLAYER ISAAC HUMPHRI OUT AS ONLY ACTIVE GAY PLAYER TOP-TIER MEN'S BASKETBALL
• THE LIST OF GAY BASKETBALL PLAYERS NTU TO GROW WH ANOTHER G OUT
• JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS
• TOP 3 NBA PLAYERS WHO ARE GAY FEAT. JASON COLLS AND MORE
• RUMOR: LAKERS, WARRRS AMONG POTENTIAL RUDY GAY SUORS EE AGENCY

HERE ARE THE 6 GAY MEN WHO HAVE BEEN OUT PUBLICLY WHILE PETG PRO BASKETBALL

Sce Colls showed the world you uld be a gay man profsnal basketball, there has been a trickle of gay athlet to follow, most recently former NBA player and current Atralian pro basketball player Isaac Humphri. His fay reportedly had mixed emotns towards the announcement, but he still changed the game, beg the first Divisn I men's basketball player to e out as gay and play gam.

When then-Phoenix Suns print and CEO Rick Welts me out as gay May 2011, former NBA pot guard Steve Nash pledged his support favor of the LGBT muny. Nash said the vio, "A growg number of profsnal athlet are speakg out support of gay and lbian upl gettg married, I'm proud to be one of them.

JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY

Asi om his open support for gay rights, he also ns the Steve Nash Foundatn, which helps children who are affected by poverty, illns, abe or neglect, and creat opportuny for tn, play, and empowerment, Phoenix, Arizona, and Brish Columbia, Canada.

In his hman year at Villanova, he first me out as gay to his teammate and roommate Mike Villa before nfsg to his parents three months later. Last year, the NBA moved s 2017 All-Star Game out of Charlotte, North Carola, due to the state's law that lims anti-discrimatn protectns for lbian, gay and transgenr people.

THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY

Atralian A-League soccer star Josh Cavallo me out as gay an October vio posted to his social media, beg hailed as the first current male top-flight profsnal soccer player to publicly do so. "He ntued: "Growg up I always felt the need to hi myself, you know, bee I was ashamed, and ashamed I'll never be able to do what I love and be gay. The 28-year-old Natnal Football League player and Rairs fensive leman ma history when he me out as gay on Instagram durg Pri Month, beg the first veteran NFL player to e out as gay while signed to a regular-season ntract.

The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know.

Corey Walsh, the 27-year-old pro BMX rir and Vans spokperson, said he isn't normally the type of person to "let people " on his personal life, but felt was important to e out as gay a March Instagram post bee "there are a lot of people still stgglg wh the same suatns" and he "jt wanted to let people know that they are not alone. Champn long track speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy never hid beg gay om his fay, iends, and fellow athlet, but he also wasn't one to rate his locker wh rabow Pri flags eher. On Febary 23, 2014, Brooklyn Nets center Jason Colls be the first openly gay athlete to play a game the Uned Stat’ four major profsnal leagu.

A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS

The 35-year-old journeyman plays 10 srels mut, rerdg two rebounds and five fouls the Nets’ 108-102 victory over the Los Angel May 2013, Colls revealed he is gay a first-person say  Sports Illtrated. One ESPN mentator, Chris Brosard, exprsed both his admiratn for Colls’ bravery and his belief that Colls uld not be both gay and christian. Tennis great Marta Navratilova, who had somewhat unbelievably e out 1981, praised Colls and exprsed her hope that this would help end homophobia team sports and lead to more players g out.

In a society that unfairly puts a stigma on gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and other such dividuals, their support has been happily embraced. The Canadian superstar was the first high-profile athlete to support former Phoenix Suns team print Rick Welts, who admted he was a homosexual.

I am simply dog what a good person of nscience would do, which is makg people aware that gay people don’t jt look like Jack om ‘Will and Grace, ’ and that they don’t want to jump your bon every ocsn and that some are mp and some are butch and that we’re different and we’re eful and we are here. Many already had spicns that he was homosexual, cludg former Jazz teammate Greg Ostertag, who reportedly asked him pot black if the mors were te. The ments are among 78 tweets om 36 current and active NBA players on teams that are homophobic language, nature or even tent (four other players were on a roster when the list was piled last month, but they are no longer on an NBA team).

THE 77 WNBA PLAYERS THAT HAVE COME OUT AS GAY LBIAN, TRANS OR NON-BARY

The players clu CJ McCollum, the print of the Natnal Basketball Players Assn., who tweeted “no homo, ” as well as superstar Kev Durant, who tweeted “shut up fag boy. “I don’t re how long ago was, shows the person’s character, my opn, ” said Derrick Gordon, who me out publicly as gay while playg basketball at UMass and who now plays profsnally Germany. The Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz each have four players on the list of NBA athlet who created anti-gay tweets, while the Chigo Bulls currently have three players who tweeted homophobic msag.

FORMER NBA, KENTUCKY PLAYER ISAAC HUMPHRI OUT AS ONLY ACTIVE GAY PLAYER TOP-TIER MEN'S BASKETBALL

Not cintally, Jason Colls beme the first active NBA player to e out as gay 2013, raisg signifint awarens of LGBTQ issu — and the prence of gay players — the NBA. “Culture as a whole has changed, ” said Anthony Nimo, a succsful high school basketball ach New York who me out publicly as gay several years ago.

Colls — who played as an openly gay player the last uple regular-season months and then playoffs of the 2013-14 season — has been speakg to NBA rooki at the league’s annual symposium sce 2015. Readg [the tweets] remd me a lot of my journal that I kept, and I stopped after two weeks, bee was jt … you hear , but you don’t really realize how much sual homophobia there was. Speakg om my experience, there is a disnnect sometim between someone who sual homophobia, and then once you show them who you are, they will step up and have your back.

THE LIST OF GAY BASKETBALL PLAYERS NTU TO GROW WH ANOTHER G OUT

One mon slur ed var tweets was “no homo, ” which me to vogue over 10 years ago as a way for a man to pliment another man whout beg taken “the wrong way.

As a ach and tor, Nimo said he still hears “no homo” around teenagers — even beg out as a gay man — though the culture basketball has improved. Pl Reed“Bch be gay today, bi tommorow, and pregnant sunday ha”/2014 “Why is so many niggas drs up like girls and putt on wigs tryna be funny. Mallm Hill“homo# LOL”/2011Zach LaVe “@perrnTF @juice_wilson49 both y’all r gay”/2014Javonte Green“You gay for subbg”/2016Cleveland Cavaliers.

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

Oshae Brissett“This guy is sooooo gay on my b”/2012“you want all the guys on the street to love you ew your gay”/2012“you sound like a girl.. Youyr so gay lool”/2012“OMFG why gods good name would anyone cut them self for a fag”/2013“Callg your iend a fag on bbm but then you realize that you sent to your mom”/2012“you are a fag”/2013“follow me back fag”/2012“get off my twter you fag/2013@TheRealtEver_ fag”/2012Hoton Rockets.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

Montrezl Harrell“no u fag you are talkg to the worlds ltlt man Jordan smh”/2012“you gay don’t @ me no more for real”/2011“This nigga the barber shop is gay as hell smh”/2012“SpongeBob Tho >> ^__^ ♥♥he gay”/2012“Trezl & India Fsg About Spongebob -__- Lol he’s gay”/2012. Facundo Campazzo“ gay”/2016Jam Ennis III“fag lol”/2012“@ChristianPerez1: Tanic is on:) (no homo)” I love that move”/2011JaMychal Green“dnt play w me koolaid will get put on his head if he try some gay”/2010“lol i got you i nt wave thats gay but ill salute you”/2011“Fna load my iPod up w new mic while I tch up on some #Dexter season 3... Jared Butler“That gay du msed up”/2014Jordan Clarkson“naw Rick #yotillsglebee u still got homo tennci lol”/2010Rudy Gay “Can someone tell @RasualButler45 to holla at me!

Not only was their birthday a huge tone for women’s profsnal basketball, but the league’s growth has cid wh a growg acceptance of players that intify as gay, lbian, bisexual and trans.

NORTH AMERI’S FOUR BIGGT PRO SPORTS LEAGU HAVE BEEN AROUND A BED 398 YEARS. THEY’VE HAD TWO OPENLY GAY ACTIVE PLAYERS

I remember when the WNBA kicked off and though there was an assumptn that there mt have been gay players the league, yet no player was open about their sexualy.

Even though some outlets have approximated of the percentage of LGBTQ players the WNBA the real number will always be accurate as long as homophobia exists all ’s forms. The te percentage of WNBA players that intify as gay or lbian will always be termed by how acceptg society of differenc sexualy and genr, and th, how fortable players are of g out of the closet the public eye.

TOP 3 NBA PLAYERS WHO ARE GAY FEAT. JASON COLLS AND MORE

We piled this list bee we know that the qutn of how many gay WNBA players there are and bee there’s not a lot of reputable rmatn to be had; leads to stereotyp beg perpetuated and biased opns are taken as fact. We saw the lack of available rearch as an opportuny to provi rmatn that is actually rearched wh the ntext of how culture affects the number of out gay and lbian WNBA players.

That’s also te the WNBA where All-Stars Dewanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas are engaged, former teammat Penny Taylor and Trasi are married, current teammat Allie Quigley and Courtney Vanrsloot have also wed, Natisha Heiman and Jasme Thomas are upled up and Breanna Stewart and Marta Xargay have a child together.

And every WNBA superstar that is out now cludg Augt, Grer, Bird, McCoughtry, Candace Parker, Stewart, Katie Smh, and Jonquel Jon to name a few have all spoke to the glass closet they’re workg agast and homophobia that they’ve experienced that have silenced them. Sue Bird dumbed down how racism, sexism, and homophobia together to work agast the WNBA an ESPN terview: “To be pletely blunt, but also kd of simple, soccer players generally are cute ltle whe girls. Whether straight or gay, the great thg about the WNAB is that they’re unified their support of one another – not only terms of women’s sports, but genr equy, racial jtice, and issu impactg the LGBTQIA+ muny as all three h very close to home.

RUMOR: LAKERS, WARRRS AMONG POTENTIAL RUDY GAY SUORS EE AGENCY

Though there is a lot of ternalized and systemic homophobia the WNBA to unpack and remove, ’s no surprise that the league go big durg Pri month. This past September, was seven years sce I wrote, this magaze, “The Last Closet, ” a feature about the total sany that, September 2011, there were no openly gay players the four major North Amerin men’s profsnal sports leagu.

Sports seemed like the last bastn of this sort of homophobia left Amerin life, but did seem like that taboo was … looseng, at least, wh sports culture.

A year after that, the Rams drafted openly gay fensive end Michael Sam the seventh round of the NFL draft, and he kissed his boyiend celebratn live on ESPN’s airwav; his jersey quickly beme the send-bt-sellg the NFL. After all, wasn’t long ago that LeBron Jam — who now is wily nsired a strong LGBT advote — was sayg that if you were gay and not tellg your teammat about , you were beg “untstworthy.