Jason Collins: First openly gay NBA player

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/23/jason-collins-nets-gay-nba-player_n_4843591.html
by Chris Greenberg
2/23/14

Jason Collins has earned a ton of respect ever since the beginning of his professional basketball career. The seven-footer was drafted eighteenth overall in the 2001 NBA draft from Stanford, where he built up his reputation as a gritty interior defender. A man of class and a great sportsman in general, Collins' move to announce his sexuality was straight-up and professional. Shortly after he was released by the Washington Wizards last season, he announced he was gay. His announcement received a gigantic amount of attention and controversy as he would not only be the first openly gay NBA player, but the first openly gay player in any of the four professional American sports (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB). The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agent Jason Collins to a ten-day contract. Collins has stated that he does not care for the history of the game and is just excited at the chance to play for an NBA team once again. The Nets organization has cleared up that the signing was for basketball reasons and not used as a publicity stunt. As from the players' standpoint, there have been no significant comments regarding playing with an openly gay teammate. It is truly phenomenal to see how far along sports have come along; as much as five years ago, nobody would have ever expected this day to come. Although it might come off as awkward, it is a huge step for the NBA and a colossal step for the homosexual community.