NBA center Jason Collins announces he is gay

Professional sport is often seen as the last bastion of old school machismo, where men are “real” men and agression is part and parcel of the landscape. That’s a large part of why no active player in a major American sport had come out and said he was gay. Until now. Jason Collins, an NBA basketball player, has announced he is gay in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, breaking a taboo that has existed for decades. In his first-person account, he writes that he wishes someone else had walked this road ahead of him, but since no one has, he decided to do so himself. [caption id=“attachment_739311” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jason Collins has played for six different NBA teams. Getty[/caption] For Collins, the journey from private to public began in 2011, when the NBA’s labour contract negotiation led to a lockout of part of the season. Without the distraction of basketball, the 34-year-old had time to reflect and realised that he could not go on pretending. “The first relative I came out to was my aunt Teri, a superior court judge in San Francisco. Her reaction surprised me. “I’ve known you were gay for years,” she said. From that moment on I was comfortable in my own skin. In her presence I ignored my censor button for the first time. She gave me support. The relief I felt was a sweet release. Imagine you’re in the oven, baking. Some of us know and accept our sexuality right away and some need more time to cook. I should know – I baked for 33 years." Collins, who is currently a free agent, said he had not spoken to any of his former team-mates before making his announcement and has no idea how they will react. He is hoping for the best while preparing for the worst. Some of the reactions have already been positive. Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers guard, tweeted his support:

Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 29, 2013

And NBA Commissioner David Stern released a statement praising Collins for going public. “As Adam Silver and I said to Jason, we have known the Collins family since Jason and Jarron joined the NBA in 2001 and they have been exemplary members of the NBA family. Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue,” Stern said in a statement. Collins has averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds over 713 NBA games for six different teams: New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards. His brother, Jarron, also played in the NBA for ten seasons. According to ESPN.com, a few hours after his announcement, Collins had gone from 3,700 follows on Twitter to over 13,000. You can read the full story of Collins’ coming out here.