Jason Colls, first openly gay athlete to play NBA, mak U.S. sports history

NBA 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. * first nba gay player *

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. 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 COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

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. In the first le he wrote, “I am a 34-year old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” He announced his plans to retire today, aga through first person, this time on The Players’ Tribune. * first nba gay player *

"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. "He said the first relative he told he was gay was his nt Teri, who is a superr urt judge San Francis.

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

* first nba gay player *

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.

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.

THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY

The gay athlet have broken through the noise to fd they n be accepted as gay athlet basketball. * first nba gay player *

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.

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.

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

Former NBA player Jason Colls beme the first openly gay athlete playg a major Amerin team sport. He got support even om many people, cludg the POTUS. * first nba gay player *

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? 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. Colls beme the first, and still only, active gay NBA player when he signed wh the Broolyn Nets Febary of 2014.

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

Jason Colls, who played wh the NBA’s Washgton Wizards this season, has disclosed that he is gay. * first nba gay player *

John Amaechi was the first gay NBA player to e out, but he did so after he had retired om the league. 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”.

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

Carl Nassib this week beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay. And wh his announcement, the Las Vegas Rairs fensive end jos a small group of openly gay men profsnal sports. * first nba gay player *

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

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

Recently released by the Thunr, veteran forward Rudy Gay is beg targeted by multiple teams, cludg the Lakers and Warrrs. * first nba gay player *

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

NBA’S JASON COLLS OUT AS GAY

Kev Maxen is now the first openly gay male ach the NFL. * first nba gay player *

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

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.

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

There’s hardly any Hispanic players, no Asian-Amerins, so that there’s no openly gay players is no real surprise.

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

The book also offers sight to the closed world of profsnal sports, cludg Amaechi’s spired and iendly polil arguments wh Karl Malone, what he lled the betrayal of Orlando Magic management, kd words om former Indiana ach Bobby Knight, his regret that he never told Greg Ostertag, “the gentle big man” whom he rpected, that he was gay when Ostertag asked him while they played together Utah, his rpect for then-Rockets ach Jeff Van Gundy, and his lack of rpect for Jazz ach Jerry Sloan. “Unbeknownst to me at the time, ” Amaechi wrote, “Sloan had ed some anti-gay nuendo to scribe me. While the book giv a glimpse to the life of the first openly gay former NBA player, more importantly pats a picture of a man whose ditn to philanthropy once led him to turn down a $17 ln ntract wh the Los Angel Lakers.

The LGBT movement emerged as early as the 1870s, but homosexual rights groups didn't appear until after World War II September 1945. To add onto the topic of the Warrrs, print Rick Welts me out as gay an terview wh the New York Tim 2011.

Homophobia is somethg that shouldn't have a place sports bee LGBT folks n be fans, media members, employe and executiv too. " We, as a untry, need to une and not jt bee of the tragic gay nightclub shootg Orlando, Florida, that occurred last summer.

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

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.

He also received praise om Colls and former NFL fensive end Michael Sam, who beme the first openly gay football player.

Denver Nuggets power forward Kenh Faried has been a gay rights supporter for a long time. In 2011, mors surfaced, claimg that Selby was gay after an alleged email to another man was leaked.

Jason Colls, first openly gay NBA player, reflects on legacy, life after basketball | PBS NewsHour

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