Jason Colls first openly gay active player - ESPN

Contents:

• NBA CENTER JASON COLLS BE FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER MAJOR US SPORTS
• 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 SAYS HE'S GAY
• A GAY NBA FAN FOUND 78 HOMOPHOBIC TWEETS BY 40 PLAYERS ON 23 TEAMS
• THE LIST OF GAY BASKETBALL PLAYERS NTU TO GROW WH ANOTHER G OUT
• JASON COLLS IS THE 1ST OPENLY GAY NBA PLAYER AND WAS ENGAGED TO A WOMAN — INSI HIS STORY
• JASON COLLS, FIRST OPENLY GAY ATHLETE TO PLAY NBA, MAK U.S. SPORTS HISTORY
• 'MY GOAL IS TO NORMALIZE': PHOENIX SUNS BASKETBALL OPERATNS EXECUTIVE ANNOUNC HE IS GAY
• PHOENIX SUNS' RYAN RCH FIRST OPENLY GAY PERSON NBA TEAM'S BASKETBALL OPERATNS
• SUNS BASKETBALL OPERATNS EXECUTIVE RYAN RCH ANNOUNC HE IS GAY

NBA CENTER JASON COLLS BE FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER MAJOR US SPORTS

The Washgton Wizards center Jason Colls has bee, his own words, "the first openly gay athlete playg a major Amerin team sport". "Colls said that he did not relish the prospect of beg the first openly gay player US team sport, but felt that he uld no longer live a lie. Colls's claratn agast the backdrop of tense public bate about of the lack of of openly gay players Amerin profsnal sports.

THE ONLY 3 OUT, GAY NBA PLAYERS IN HISTORY

Earlier this month, the former Baltimore Ravens lebacker Brendan Ayanbajo, a proment advote of gay rights alongsi the Mnota Vikgs punter Chris Kluwe, said four current NFL players were preparg to e out. The Natnal Hockey League has announced a partnership wh You Can Play, an anisatn which aims to elimate homophobia sports.

"Colls go on to wre that he cid to e out public when the Massachsetts ngrsman Joe Kennedy, who was his room-mate at Stanford universy, "told me he had jt marched Boston's 2012 Gay Pri Para". I was proud of him for participatg but angry that as a closeted gay man I uldn't even cheer my straight iend on as a spectator.

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

Colls' words may e extra tert the aftermath of the Rutgers basketball sndal, which ach Mike Rice was fired and the universy's athletic director rigned, after vio emerged of Rice abg players physilly and wh homophobic discsg his cisn to lay g out until the end of the season, Colls wr: "My one small gture of solidary was to wear jersey number 98 wh the Celtics and then the Wizards. Alan Gendre, an openly gay kicker om Middle Tennsee, was not picked up by an NFL team the 2013 Draft, which took place last week. Jason CollsCareerComg OutJon AmaechiCareer Comg Out Isaac HumphriCareerComg OutAre There Closeted Gay NBA Players?

JASON COLLS SAYS HE'S GAY

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.

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

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”.

He actually went to unselg and beme the 1st person to sign his name to a 2013 petn to legalize gay marriage Florida.

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.

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

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. 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.

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

" 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.

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

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

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.

'MY GOAL IS TO NORMALIZE': PHOENIX SUNS BASKETBALL OPERATNS EXECUTIVE ANNOUNC HE IS GAY

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

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.

"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. 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.

PHOENIX SUNS' RYAN RCH FIRST OPENLY GAY PERSON NBA TEAM'S BASKETBALL OPERATNS

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. Beg a big NBA fan, Chris cid to check the acunts of some of his favore players and found var homophobic tweets. From his rearch: “Fag” showed up 29 tweets, “gay” 40 (and not plimentary), and the phrase “no homo” 17.

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.

SUNS BASKETBALL OPERATNS EXECUTIVE RYAN RCH ANNOUNC HE IS GAY

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.