6 gay pro basketball players who have been out while petg - Outsports

Contents:

• FORMER CELTICS CENTER JASON COLLS COM OUT AS FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE ATHLETE IN AMERIN PRO SPORTS
• JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY
• HERE ARE THE 6 GAY MEN WHO HAVE BEEN OUT PUBLICLY WHILE PETG PRO BASKETBALL
• THIS GAY BOSTON CELTICS FAN IS WORKG HIS DREAM JOB AS HIS TE SELF
• NBA VETERAN JASON COLLS OUT AS GAY
• JASON COLLS BE THE FIRST OPENLY GAY NBA PLAYER
• JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY N.B.A. PLAYER, SIGNS WH NETS AND APPEARS GAME
• A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS
• RUDY GAY OFFERS PLAYER PERSPECTIVE OF IME UDOKA AFTER REPORTED CELTICS’ HIRG
• NBA RUMORS: CELTICS SEE PATTY MILLS, RUDY GAY AS FREE AGENT OPTNS
• BOSTON CELTICS MAILBAG: RUDY GAY TRA, AL HORFORD’S FUTURE, EE AGENT BIG POSSIBILI
• JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH IS FIRST MALE ACH A MAJOR US-BASED PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY
• LAKERS NOT: REAV, WTBROOK, CASTLETON, GAY

FORMER CELTICS CENTER JASON COLLS COM OUT AS FIRST OPENLY GAY MALE ATHLETE IN AMERIN PRO SPORTS

BOSTON (CBS) -- For months, mors persisted of an openly gay profsnal athlete g out as gay, and on Monday, that player turned out to be NBA center Jason Colls. "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playg a major Amerin team sport.

All month long, Outsports is revisg key moments gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and queer sports history as part of LGBTQ history month. Bee of Colls, at least 187 profsnal athlet talked about issu surroundg gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr athlet.

There are still no publicly gay players the NFL, NHL or major league baseball.

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

When we get to the pot where a gay pro athlete is no longer forced to live fear that he’ll be shunned by teammat or outed by tabloids, when we get to the pot where he plays while his signifint other was the fay room, when we get to the pot where he’s not pelled to hi his te self and is able to live an thentic life, then g out won’t be such a big al.

Thank you, Jason, for helpg to start and ntue nversatns and knock down the walls of homophobia sports. 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.

Me personally gay men the locked room would make me unfortable. As Amerins grow more acceptg of gay rights and same-sex marriage.

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

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.

"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.

THIS GAY BOSTON CELTICS FAN IS WORKG HIS DREAM JOB AS HIS TE SELF

"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.

"When I told Joe a few weeks ago that I was gay, he was grateful that I tsted him.

NBA VETERAN JASON COLLS OUT AS GAY

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.

"When I was playg, I had never had nversatns around what meant to be gay. "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.

JASON COLLS BE THE FIRST OPENLY GAY NBA PLAYER

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.

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

Here are the gay men who have blazed a trail on basketball urts around the world.

But like many gay sports fanatics, he wasn’t sure if his sexual inty mhed wh his passn. “As a gay person, ’s like, ‘OK, so don’t be yourself?

NEW YORK (AP) — NBA veteran Jason Colls beme the first active male player the four major Amerin profsnal sports to e out as gay. Colls says he told his brother he was gay last summer. Dghter Chelsea, who knew the player om Stanford, tweeted: "Very proud of my iend Jason Colls for havg the strength & urage to be the first openly gay player the NBA.

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

In his acunt, Colls wrote that he realized he need to go public when the ngrsman walked Boston's gay pri para last year — and Colls uldn't jo him.

Colls wrote that he quietly ma a statement for gay rights even while keepg his sexual orientatn a secret.

98 wh the Celtics and Wizards — that was the year Matthew Shepard, a gay llege stunt Wyomg, was killed, and the Trevor Project, a suici preventn anizatn, was found.

RUDY GAY OFFERS PLAYER PERSPECTIVE OF IME UDOKA AFTER REPORTED CELTICS’ HIRG

Soccer natnal team player Robbie Rogers said he was gay — and retired at the same time. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, A Boston Celtics player 2012, Mr Colls will rejo the team he has played seven of his 12 seasons whVeteran basketball player Jason Colls has bee the first openly gay athlete to play a petive game for a major US profsnal sports league. Colls entered the urt at the start of the send quarter a game agast the Los Angel 35-year-old centre, who has played for five other NBA teams, was given a warm receptn by the only revealed he was gay a Sports Illtrated magaze terview last the time he was not signed to a source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Print Obama, probably the world's most famo basketball fan, ved Mr Colls to his state dner for France's Print Hollan FebaryNeedg another big man, the Nets turned to the seven-foot Colls, who helped them reach two NBA Fals the early 2000s.

''The news as Michael Sam, another US sportsman who recently revealed he is gay, prepar to take part Amerin Football's NFL Sutg Combe - a showse of llege players lookg to be signed by NFL May, Los Angel Galaxy footballer Robbie Rogers beme the first openly gay male athlete to play a US profsnal league. Uniform for the first time sce last sprg, when he announced that he was signg reprents a signifint step toward transformg North Amerin profsnal sports to a more welg environment for gay athlet.

Game had taken place wh an openly gay player on the floor. — the ntent’s other three tradnal major sports leagu — have never had a publicly gay very act of Colls’s sug up and steppg onto the urt — he entered the game to warm applse the send quarter — reprented a tone the effort to change a sports culture that some feel has lagged far behd society at large acceptance of gay people. It seemed noteworthy that the first openly gay player one of Ameri’s major sports leagu would play for a Brooklyn team.

NBA RUMORS: CELTICS SEE PATTY MILLS, RUDY GAY AS FREE AGENT OPTNS

Put has e unr tense scty for a law that bans gay “propaganda.

BOSTON CELTICS MAILBAG: RUDY GAY TRA, AL HORFORD’S FUTURE, EE AGENT BIG POSSIBILI

”“Today Jason Colls tore open the last remag closet Ameri, ” said Brian Ellner, a foundg member of Athlete Ally, a nonprof that rais awarens about homophobia sports. ”Colls is re-enterg an Amerin sports landspe that has changed for gay athlet sce he last Rogers, 26, me out publicly last Febary while simultaneoly announcg that he would retire om profsnal soccer.

JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH IS FIRST MALE ACH A MAJOR US-BASED PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

But Rogers changed urse May, jog the Los Angel Galaxy and gog on to play 11 gam last this month, Michael Sam, 24, announced that he was gay shortly after pletg a four-year llege football reer at Missouri. Colls has prevly said that 98 is a reference to the year Matthew Shepard, a gay llege stunt, was murred.

LAKERS NOT: REAV, WTBROOK, CASTLETON, GAY

Colls was asked what msage he might send to gay athlet who were watchg him. 26, 2014: An article on Monday about the Nets’ signg Jason Colls, the first openly gay player the N. A., misspelled, some pi, the surname of a foundg member of Athlete Ally, a nonprof anizatn foced on endg homophobia and transphobia sports.

He is Brian Ellner, not we handle rrectnsA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn D, Page 3 of the New York edn wh the headle: Colls, First Openly Gay N.

that Amaechi acknowledged he is gay. gay, no one treated him any differently bee of ,.