After making an announcement like I did, you might only get one opportunity, and it might not come right away. "There was only one team, the Brooklyn Nets. "I was hoping that I was going to get another chance to play in the NBA, that someone would give me an opportunity," he said. While he looks to encourage and support other players, he says there are other factors, and it can feel like more of a business decision.
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However, no active player has come out since Collins, and in giving advice to athletes, he does not downplay his struggles in the immediate aftermath of coming out during his free agency. The NBA has been progressive on a number of social issues, with players taking on roles of advocacy. In Collins’ initial coming-out interview with Sports Illustrated, he cited the importance of the Trevor Project. On top of that, ten percent of proceeds from merchandise sales benefited the Trevor Project, a national organization that provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for LGBTQ youth. A Pride Night banner scrolled around the scoreboard throughout the game. The Suns Gorilla wore a pride flag as a cape for the t-shirt toss. The first 5,000 fans at the arena received a free purple shirt with a rainbow Suns logo. So it’s really cool," said Janel White, who attended the panel discussion with her family. "It’s a big step, and they’re changing and they’re embracing everyone, so it’s really cool that we’re at the point where we’re going to embrace everyone, finally.
The discussion ranged from what the sports community can still do to foster acceptance to how Arizona legislation compares to other states. Fans sat at picnic tables at the Dos Equis Beer Garden just outside the arena. On Tuesday night, Collins was on hand as the Phoenix Suns hosted their first Pride Night, celebrating equality and inclusion of the LGBT community.ĭuring a panel ahead of the Suns' game against the Sacramento Kings, fans were able to hear from Collins, former Tempe Mayor Neil Giuliano, President of ONE Community Angela Hughey and Phoenix Mercury COO Vince Kozar. Now retired, Collins has stayed involved with the league, serving as an NBA Cares Ambassador.
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This month will mark five years since Collins became the first openly gay player to come out while competing for one of the four major professional teams, doing so in a first-person essay for Sports Illustrated. "I really wasn’t looking forward to being the first," he said Tuesday night outside Talking Stick Resort Arena. There's an emphasis in sports on being first – first to finish, first in standings, first in points.īut in April of 2013, NBA center Jason Collins was nervous. The NBA reportedly donated the proceeds from their sales, as well as proceeds from auctions of Collins’ worn jerseys, to two LGBT charities, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN).View Gallery: Phoenix Suns Pride Night – 2018 In early 2014, sales of Collins’ jersey soared and eventually became the bestseller on the NBA’s online store. It was later revealed that he specifically selected that number in honour of American student Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in 1998. In April 2013, Jason Collins became the first openly gay athlete competing in a major American team sport.Īt the time, he played for the Washington Wizards but has since gone on to rejoin the Nets – now based in Brooklyn rather than New Jersey – and retire.ĭuring many of his games, Collins wore a jersey with the number 98 on it. Since the tragic event, he has had “LGBTQ” and his late sibling’s name tattooed on his leg as well as hosted several events such as a Pride Night, alongside organisations like GLAAD and Athlete Ally.
He’s long been a supporter of the community, particularly since his transgender sister, Mia Henderson, was murdered in Baltimore back in 2014. Bullock is no stranger when it comes to publicly standing up for inclusion and LGBTQ rights.