Jason Collins—the first openly gay NBA player, a former Boston Celtic and college roommate of former US Congressman Joseph Kennedy III—lost a tough fight with Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, yesterday, May 12. He was 47.
Reports The New York Times:
Adam Silver, the N.B.A. commissioner, announced the death in a statement on Tuesday. Collins’s family said he died of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. In December, he disclosed his diagnosis and said he was undergoing treatments.
Collins entered the N.B.A. in 2001, in a period when professional basketball was less perimeter-oriented and geared toward taller players who played closer to the rim. While he was never a scoring leader or even a full-time starter, his height, professionalism and ability to defend against other centers made him a valuable asset to six N.B.A. teams in a professional career that lasted 13 seasons.
When he retired in 2014, Collins said he hoped to be remembered as “a great teammate, someone who always sacrificed for the team.”
But his achievements on the court were eclipsed by a front-page essay he wrote in Sports Illustrated in 2013.
In the essay, Collins said he was spurred to speak publicly after his former Stanford University roommate, Joe Kennedy, a congressman from Massachusetts at the time, marched in a Pride parade in Boston.
“I’m seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy,” Collins wrote. “I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn’t even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator.”
Collins was a free agent when he wrote the essay, and there was an open question about whether it would end his career. Though the gay rights movement had made significant strides, gay marriage would not be made legal nationwide until 2015 and American men’s professional sports had not historically been welcoming to gay athletes.
ut Collins received considerable support from celebrities and sports figures. He took a phone call from President Barack Obama and was invited to attend the 2014 State of the Union address as a guest of Michelle Obama, the first lady. He was appointed to serve on the president’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. …
“My message to other athletes, period, is just be yourself,” Collins said after his first appearance with the team in February 2014, adding, “Never be afraid or ashamed or have any fear to be your true authentic self.”
