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

Contents:

• HERE ARE THE 6 GAY MEN WHO HAVE BEEN OUT PUBLICLY WHILE PETG PRO BASKETBALL
• DWIGHT HOWARD SUED BY MAN CLAIMG NBA STAR FORCED HIM TO HAVE GAY THREOME
• IS MYL TURNER GAY: NBA PLAYER FALLY TEAS HIS “SEXUALY” IN A RECENT GAME!
• DWIGHT HOWARD SAYS HE FEEL ‘FREE’ AFTER RUMORS THAT HE WAS GAY
• THE NBA HAS AN OPENLY GAY PLAYER: WHAT CHANG?
• JASON COLLS ME OUT 10 YEARS AGO, HERG A PERD OF CREASG GAY VISIBILY MEN’S SPORTS
• NBA FREE AGENCY RUMORS: LAKERS ONE OF MANY TEAMS EXPECTED TO HAVE INTERT IN RUDY GAY
• TOP 3 NBA PLAYERS WHO ARE GAY FEAT. JASON COLLS AND MORE
• FORMER NBA, KENTUCKY PLAYER ISAAC HUMPHRI OUT AS ONLY ACTIVE GAY PLAYER TOP-TIER MEN'S BASKETBALL
• JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY
• JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY
• A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS
• THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY
• THE LIST OF GAY BASKETBALL PLAYERS NTU TO GROW WH ANOTHER G OUT
• NBA VETERAN JASON COLLS OUT AS GAY
• CANDICE WIGGS SAYS 98 PERCENT OF WNBA IS GAY, CLAIMS SHE WAS BULLIED FOR BEG STRAIGHT

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

When John Amaechi me out publicly 2007, he was ahead of his time, sharg that he’s gay and a former profsnal basketball player.

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.

Former Texas Longhorns player Myl Turner has always kept his personal life unr wraps, leadg to the rise Myl Turner Gay mors. And, you know, for - I thk a lot of young people out there who, you know, are, you know, gay or lbian who are stgglg wh the issu; to see a role mol like that who's unaaid, I thk 's a great So athlet, ach, we want to hear om you. In 2011, Charl Barkley, a man known for his mon sense but never for his tact, said plaly, he was sure that every player has played wh gay guys; and went on: It bothers me when I hear the reporters and jocks get on TV and say oh, no guy n e out as a team sport.

DWIGHT HOWARD SUED BY MAN CLAIMG NBA STAR FORCED HIM TO HAVE GAY THREOME

We bond outsi of the sport, and I jt - I was close to the people, but them beg gay no way changed the sport or my opn of them.

IS MYL TURNER GAY: NBA PLAYER FALLY TEAS HIS “SEXUALY” IN A RECENT GAME!

And I thk if perceptn of the few change, then that reflects more on the public perceptn of somebody beg gay than Jason Colls. But even if they had been - and I hope this is a feelg that is g up the younger generatn - that beg gay or straight really don't matter to who you are as a person.

DWIGHT HOWARD SAYS HE FEEL ‘FREE’ AFTER RUMORS THAT HE WAS GAY

If he's a good player, I want to play wh him, and I want to learn om him - gay or As you probably know better than I, though, for example the European soccer leagu, there's a lot of homophobia. There was Chris Brosard, the NBA analyst on ESPN, on an edn of "Outsi the L, " where he scribed homosexualy as an open rebelln to God.

And if you're livg openly unrepentant s, whatever may be, not jt homosexualy, adultery, fornitn, pre-maral sex between homosexuals, whatever may be, I believe that's walkg open rebelln to God and to J Christ. There's no doubt my md that beg gay, jt stgglg wh my sexualy and beg teased for by the other boys, kept me off the basketball urt. Like many LGBT youth, I opted for dividual sports - track and field and cross-untry to Colls, the young on pee-wee football today won't know a world whout an openly gay, male, pro athlete.

THE NBA HAS AN OPENLY GAY PLAYER: WHAT CHANG?

I like this show a Thank I jt wanted to say that if anythg, all the major sports should be happy about this bee 's openg up a whole new TV mographic for them, and if anythg, 's gog to raise the ratgs bee now the gays and bisexuals and lbians have someone to root for. To start, Colls mak the classic manver of exemptg himself om the dread label, gay label - I'm never sure what that means - and then spends most multiple paragraphs tellg how butch and eager to foul he is. Oh, y, the good old gay stereotype, you know, sissi and femme swishy typ that make the sporty on look lucky for , Colls mak clear that he will be as tough and mascule and profsnal as he has always been bee he's not gog to sudnly bee that kd of gay.

But I jt n't get wh when his self-reventn is predited on the nigratn of a whole swath of the muny he now hop to pri march 're talkg about the history ma yterday by Jason Colls, who me out as gay.

I'm skippg to about halfway through his piece - I know that some nversatn the days to e, perhaps not public discsn but certa private gmblg, will clud qutns about why Colls has to rock the boat, why the news media is payg such lavish heed to him, and why gays and lbians general make such a fs of thgs. I know this om my box, where some rears routely tell me they'd be ls bothered by homosexuals if we would jt please shut up about . Otherwise, beg gay means nothg to anyone else - none of anyone's bs, So 's a private matter and should be kept I mean, should be as private as is wh straight people.

JASON COLLS ME OUT 10 YEARS AGO, HERG A PERD OF CREASG GAY VISIBILY MEN’S SPORTS

And is te that a lot of gay people need to chill out a ltle b and not make such an issue about thgs, and maybe the rt of the world will go along wh a ltle All right. Sce Jim Buzski and I started Outsports 1999, we’d talked about an active gay player the Big Four — MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL — g out publicly. Colls has seen the effects of beg out the sport firsthand, talkg repeatedly about one of his former teammat who ed anti-gay slurs the locker room eventually beg a supporter.

In 10 years, Colls remas the only active NBA player to e out publicly (Bill Kennedy is an active gay NBA referee who is out; player John Amaechi me out after retirg). When Rogers me out MLS, Michael Sam me out the NFL and Colls me out, I was nvced this was the begng of a seri of gay and bi athlet who would e out publicly men’s pro sports.

NBA FREE AGENCY RUMORS: LAKERS ONE OF MANY TEAMS EXPECTED TO HAVE INTERT IN RUDY GAY

Sce those three gay pro athlet me out the urse of a year, only two active athlet big-time Amerin men’s pro sports have e out publicly while on a team: Coll Mart MLS and Carl Nassib the NFL. Veteran forward Rudy Gay is expected to draw tert om several playoff-liber teams, cludg the Goln State Warrrs, Los Angel Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Chigo Bulls, and New Orleans Pelins, league sourc told HoopsHype.

He may not f the mold of what the Lakers need most, but Gay has proven to be an effective forward who n still sre the ball his later years. The ncern wh brgg someone like Gay is that the Lakers already have a number of players who play the same posn as he is basilly a power forward at this stage. Wh LeBron Jam, Rui Hachimura, Jarred Vanrbilt and Trean Prce already the fold, feels as if Gay would be more of a veteran prence than someone who would really make a difference on the urt.

The prry for the Lakers is surely still to brg a big man, but if they are unable to e to terms wh the right one, a reliable veteran like Gay is far om the worst kd of player they n sign.

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

The LGBT movement emerged as early as the 1870s, but homosexual rights groups didn't appear until after World War II September 1945. 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.

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.

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

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. 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.

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."Hi, everyone," the 21-year-old left back and central midfielr for the Alai Uned soccer team said the vio.

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

I'm a footballer and I'm gay."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. In a September terview wh USA Today, 25-year-old mor league baseball player beme the only active baseball profsnal to be out as gay!A member of the Salem-Keizer Volno team as well as an acplished untry mic sger-songwrer, Ruby told USA Today, "I kept thkg about the ltle 14-year-old me, who was sred bee I'm a baseball player who loved untry mic. Selected the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators, the big fenr has a good shot of makg the regular-season roster."I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay," he wrote a heartfelt msage on social media.

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."What's up people," Nassib said his Instagram post.

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

I jt wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay."He ntued: "I've been meang to do this for a while now but fally feel fortable gettg off my cht.

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

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."He wanted everyone to know he was "still the same Colton everybody met on TV" and is "proud to be gay.". Hiltz had prevly e out as gay while llege and has been a visible and affirmg prence for gay athlet the past."Hi, I'm Nikki and I'm transgenr," Hiltz wrote the post. 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.

He ially feared negative stereotyp about gay male athlet but threw those ncerns asi after his two-tle performance at the U.S. He publicly shared he is gay a vio published Wednday morng Atralian time, and he jos former NBA player Jason Colls -- who announced his sexualy 2013 -- as the only players a top-tier basketball league to announce they are gay the midst of their playg reer.

THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY

And the ma reason behd me beg so low and beg that pot is bee I was very much stgglg wh my sexualy and g to terms wh the fact that I'm gay. Colls announced he is gay April 2013, shortly after the NBA season end, and he beme the first openly gay player to appear a top-tier basketball league Febary 2014 as a member of the Nets. 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. 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.

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

"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.

"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.

NBA VETERAN JASON COLLS OUT AS GAY

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.

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 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.

CANDICE WIGGS SAYS 98 PERCENT OF WNBA IS GAY, CLAIMS SHE WAS BULLIED FOR BEG STRAIGHT

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.

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. 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.