Jason Colls first openly gay active player - ESPN

Contents:

• JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY
• JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY
• JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY NBA PLAYER, REFLECTS ON LEGACY, LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL
• THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY
• HERE ARE THE 6 GAY MEN WHO HAVE BEEN OUT PUBLICLY WHILE PETG PRO BASKETBALL
• JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY N.B.A. PLAYER, SIGNS WH NETS AND APPEARS GAME
• JASON COLLS IS THE 1ST OPENLY GAY NBA PLAYER AND WAS ENGAGED TO A WOMAN — INSI HIS STORY
• FORMER NBA, KENTUCKY PLAYER ISAAC HUMPHRI OUT AS ONLY ACTIVE GAY PLAYER TOP-TIER MEN'S BASKETBALL
• NBA’S JASON COLLS OUT AS GAY
• RUMOR: LAKERS, WARRRS AMONG POTENTIAL RUDY GAY SUORS EE AGENCY
• JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH AND NDNG ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY
• JAGS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE NFL COACH TO PUBLICLY COME OUT AS GAY

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

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.

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

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. In 2021, Las Vegas Rairs fensive leman Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to announce he is gay. Jason Colls says he's news servicApr 29, 2013, 11:46 AM ETNBA center Jason Colls on Monday announced that he's gay a story for Sports Illtrated, beg the first active player one of the four major Amerin profsnal team sports to announce that he is gay.

Last year, durg his re-electn mpaign, Print Barack Obama announced his support for gay after Colls disclosed his sexualy, Obama reached out by phone, exprsg his support and tellg Colls he was imprsed by his urage, the Whe Hoe Print Bill Clton, whose dghter Chelsea attend Stanford wh Colls, also appld Colls' announcement. "Jason's announcement today is an important moment for profsnal sports and the history of the LGBT [lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr] muny, " he said a statement.

JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY NBA PLAYER, REFLECTS ON LEGACY, LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL

"He said the first relative he told he was gay was his nt Teri, who is a superr urt judge San Francis. He said she told him, "I've known you were gay for years, " which ma him "fortable my own sk. "Colls said he realized he need to make his sexual orientatn public when his former roommate at Stanford, Massachetts ngrsman Joe Kennedy, who is straight, marched Boston's Gay Pri Para last Boston Marathon bombgs earlier this month then rerced to him "that I shouldn't wa for the circumstanc of my g out to be perfect.

THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY

Colls says he quietly ma a statement for gay rights even while keepg his sexual orientatn a secret. 98 wh the Celtics and Wizards -- 1998 was the year that Matthew Shepard, a gay llege stunt Wyomg, was killed, and the Trevor Project, a suici preventn anizatn, was found.

"Sayg 'I'm gay' sets a new standard of honty, openns and teamwork that will posively affect athlet and fans at every level of sports. After a 13-year reer the NBA, Jason Colls, the first openly gay profsnal basketball player, is retirg. Eighteen months ago Colls me out as gay through a first person article published Sports Illtrated.

“The ironic thg about the dread “D” word is that I had never felt more fortable playg basketball than I was as an openly gay man, ” he wrote.

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

Colls’ retirement means there will be no openly gay player currently playg any of the four major U.

Addrsg the lack of openly gay players, Colls wrote that we are not “there” yet when to acceptg openly gay players major league sports. While there may be closeted gay nba players, there have only been three openly gay players.

Jason CollsCareerComg OutJon AmaechiCareer Comg Out Isaac HumphriCareerComg OutAre There Closeted Gay NBA Players?

JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY N.B.A. PLAYER, SIGNS WH NETS AND APPEARS GAME

One ESPN mentator, Chris Brosard, exprsed both his admiratn for Colls’ bravery and his belief that Colls uld not be both gay and christian.

JASON COLLS IS THE 1ST OPENLY GAY NBA PLAYER AND WAS ENGAGED TO A WOMAN — INSI HIS STORY

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.

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

Colls beme the first, and still only, active gay NBA player when he signed wh the Broolyn Nets Febary of 2014. John Amaechi was the first gay NBA player to e out, but he did so after he had retired om the league.

NBA’S JASON COLLS OUT AS GAY

The difference reactn between Ameachi’s and Colls’ statements is a sign of the growth acceptance of gay people between 2007 and 2013.

Barkley said he was sure he had played both wh and agast gay players and should not be viewed as a big al. Lebron Jam said “Wh teammat you have to be tstworthy, and if you’re gay and you’re not admtg that you are, then you are not tstworthy”.

Others were crass wh Shavlik Randolph sayg “As long as you don’t brg your gayns on me I’m fe”.

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

The strongt reactn me om Tim Hardaway who said: “Well, you know, I hate gay people, so I let be known. He actually went to unselg and beme the 1st person to sign his name to a 2013 petn to legalize gay marriage Florida. At UK he had limed succs, averagg jt 3 pots and 3 rebounds per game his sophomore season.

Humprhi is the only male player a top tier league the world who is currently playg and openly gay.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH AND NDNG ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

While the percentage of people who are gay vari wh different measur, there is no reputable measure sayg the number is zero. Jason Colls me out 2013 and went on to play the next season beg the first and only openly gay active player NBA history. Today, we’re rewdg to 2007 and the story of the former pro athlete who beme the first NBA player to e out as gay: John Amaechi.

John Amaechi, a former player wh the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic, has bee the first NBA player to e out as gay. “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. His guaranteed ntract wh the Jazz set his md at ease, and was there that he began venturg out to gay tablishments and buildg a mostly gay circle of iends (the first wi circle of iends of his life, acrdg to the book).

“Those gmpy social nservativ who ntue to sist that gay life is lonely and unhappy have obvly never met my iends, ” Amaechi wrote.

JAGS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE NFL COACH TO PUBLICLY COME OUT AS GAY

He also acknowledg that those gay clubs like New York’s Splash and Los Angel’ Abbey who have claimed the past to have spotted him there while he was wh the Jazz may, fact, have done so. In a 2002 terview wh the Stsman newspaper, Amaechi had this to say about the subject of gays the NBA: “If you look at our league, mori aren’t very well reprented.