NBA's First Openly Gay Player Jason Collins Dies at 47

Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player and a pioneer for inclusion, has died. He was 47. The NBA announced his death.

Collins played 13 years in the league for six franchises. He came out as gay in 2013 near the end of his career. He announced a Stage 4 glioblastoma diagnosis in December. The disease carries a low survival rate. His family said in a statement through the NBA that he died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma.

"Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar," the family said. "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."

Last week, Collins received the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award at the Green Sports Alliance Summit. Too ill to attend, he had his twin brother, former NBA player Jarron Collins, accept it.

"I told my brother this before I came here: He's the bravest, strongest man I've ever known," Jarron Collins said.

Collins averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds over his career. He helped the New Jersey Nets reach two NBA Finals. In his best season, 2004-05, he averaged 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds for them. He retired in 2014 after playing 22 games with the Brooklyn Nets from February to November.

"Jason Collins' impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said. "He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador. Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others."

Collins revealed his sexuality in a first-person Sports Illustrated account in April 2013.

"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm Black and I'm gay," he wrote.

A free agent at the time, he wanted to keep playing and did so the next season with Brooklyn.

"If I had my way, someone else would have already done this," he wrote. "Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."

Stars like Kobe Bryant supported him. The White House and former President Bill Clinton did too. Clinton's daughter Chelsea attended Stanford with Collins. There, Collins roomed with Joe Kennedy III, who later served eight years in Congress for Massachusetts.

Collins decided to go public after Kennedy marched in Boston's gay pride parade in 2012, something Collins could not do. He had kept his views on gay rights private before that. He wore jersey No. 98 in his final three stints with Boston, Washington and Brooklyn, honoring the year Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming, was killed. He wore No. 46 in one Nets game because it was the only jersey available.

"In 2013, Jason changed sports forever by becoming the first active male athlete in a major North American team sport to publicly come out," the National Basketball Players Association said. "His courage shattered barriers, making him a global beacon of hope for the LGBTQ+ community. He worked relentlessly to foster inclusion in locker rooms, schools, and communities, challenging us all to be more empathetic."

At Stanford, Collins shot nearly 61% from the field, a school record. He earned honorable mention on The Associated Press' All-America team in 2001. Months later, the Houston Rockets drafted him 18th overall.

"It's a sad day for all of us associated with Stanford basketball when we lose one of the program's greats," former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "We all have great memories of Jason and the kind of person he was. It's hard to separate Jarron and Jason because they thought so alike, but even though he was an identical twin, Jason was unique in his own way. The impact he had on Stanford was immense, as he could match up against anyone in the country because he was big, smart, strong and skilled, all while being a very bright and nice person."