Jason Collins, who broke basketball's closet door in 2013 and spent the rest of his life championing inclusion within and beyond the NBA, died Tuesday after an eight-month fight with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor. He was 47.
Collins played 13 seasons across six NBA franchises, including stints with the Boston Celtics and New Jersey Nets, before publicly coming out as gay near the twilight of his career. That announcement marked a watershed moment for professional sports, establishing him instantly as a figure of enormous symbolic and personal significance.
The diagnosis came as stage 4 glioblastoma, a cancer with notoriously poor survival odds. His family released a statement through the league emphasizing how deeply Collins had touched those around him.
"Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar," the statement read. "We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly."
Collins' final public recognition came just days before his death. He received the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award at the Green Sports Alliance Summit last week, though illness prevented him from attending the ceremony in person. His twin brother and fellow former NBA player, Jarron Collins, accepted on his behalf.
"I told my brother this before I came here: he's the bravest, strongest man I've ever known," Jarron Collins said while holding the award.
Author James Rodriguez: "Collins never made a bigger basket than the one he shot when he simply told the truth. That matters now more than ever."
Comments