Jason Collins

As a rookie along with Richard Jefferson, Collins played a significant role in the New Jersey Nets' first-ever NBA Finals berth in 2002 against the Los Angeles Lakers. During this Finals appearance, Collins acknowledged that he is not really 7 feet tall as he has been listed since his junior year of college.[11] He was measured 6 ft 10¼ in at the 2001 NBA combine.[12]

In the 2002–03 NBA season Collins took over the starting center role for the Nets and helped the franchise back to the NBA Finals. During that season, Collins averaged 5.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Prior to the 2004–05 season, he signed a $25 million contract extension with New Jersey for five more years.[13]

On February 4, 2008, Collins was traded along with cash considerations to the Memphis Grizzlies for Stromile Swift.[14]

On June 26, 2008, Collins was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an eight-player deal involving Kevin Love and O. J. Mayo.[15]

Collins signed with the Atlanta Hawks on September 2, 2009.[16] Collins re-signed with the Hawks in the 2010 offseason.[17] In 2010–11, the fifth-seeded Hawks defeated the fourth-seeded Orlando Magic as Collins slowed the Magic's dominant center, Dwight Howard. After Game 4 in the series, then-Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called Collins' play "the best defense on [Howard] all year".[18]

Collins (right) and Celtics' teammate Jared Sullinger (left) defend Detroit's Greg Monroe

On July 31, 2012, Collins signed a contract with the Boston Celtics.[19] On February 21, 2013, Collins and Leandro Barbosa were traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jordan Crawford.[20]

On April 29, 2013, after the season had already concluded, Collins publicly came out as gay, becoming the first active male athlete from one of the four major North American professional team sports to publicly do so.[21][22] Collins became a free agent in July 2013, and stated that he intended to pursue another contract.[23] He was not invited by any team to training camp, but he worked out at his home waiting for an opportunity.[22][24]

On February 23, 2014, Collins signed a 10-day contract to rejoin the Nets, who had since moved to Brooklyn.[25] Nets coach Jason Kidd, who became good friends with Collins while teammates in New Jersey from 2001 to 2008, was an advocate of signing Collins.[24][26] Collins played 11 minutes that night against the Lakers at the Staples Center, becoming the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues.[27][28][29] Collins wore jersey number 46 (the only number the team had available at the time) in his first game of the season, but planned to wear No. 98—the same number he wore with Boston and Washington—going forward.[24] Collins chose to wear No. 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, whose 1998 murder was widely reported as a hate crime and ultimately led to the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[30] Collins' jersey rose to the top spot for sales in the NBA's online shop, and the NBA announced that proceeds from the sales, as well as proceeds from auctions of Collins' autographed game-worn jerseys, would benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN).[30]

Collins huddles with the Nets before playing the Washington Wizards in 2014

On March 5, 2014, Collins signed a second 10-day contract with the Nets.[31][32] On March 15, 2014, Collins signed with the Nets for the rest of the season.[33]

On November 19, 2014, Collins announced his retirement from professional basketball after 13 seasons in the NBA.[34]

In the cover story of the May 6, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated, a first person story by Collins with journalist Franz Lidz,[36][37] and posted on the magazine's website on April 29, 2013, he came out as gay, becoming the first active male athlete from one of the four major North American professional team sports to publicly do so.[21][38][39] He wrote that he wished to maintain his privacy in regard to specific details of his personal life, and that he is not in a relationship. Collins also said a "notorious antigay hate crime", the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, led him to choose "98" for his jersey number, in Shepard's honor. Collins called the number "a statement to myself, my family and my friends."[40]

Following his announcement, Collins has received high praise and support for deciding to publicly reveal that he is gay.[38] Fellow NBA star Kobe Bryant praised his decision, as did others from around the league, including NBA commissioner David Stern.[38] President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, former president Bill Clinton, and Collins' corporate sponsor Nike were also among those offering their praise and support for Collins.[38] However, ESPN basketball analyst Chris Broussard stated that he did not believe that Collins can "live an openly homosexual lifestyle" and be a Christian,[38] but thought that Collins "displayed bravery with his announcement".[41] Collins, a Christian, responded by saying "This is all about tolerance and acceptance and America is the best country in the world because we're all entitled to our opinions and beliefs but we don't have to agree. And obviously I don't agree with his statement."[42] The Guardian called it significant for LGBT acceptance "as professional sports had long been seen as the final frontier."[43] Given the interest in major league team sports in the United States, The Christian Science Monitor wrote that Collins' announcement was "likely to put wind in the sails of this trend" of acceptance of gay rights in U.S. public opinion.[39] Former tennis player Martina Navratilova, who came out as a lesbian in 1981, called Collins a "game-changer" for team sports, which she referred to as one of the last areas where homophobia remained.[44][45]

Collins' former fiancée, Carolyn Moos, expressed conflicted feelings and said she only learned Collins was gay shortly before the Sports Illustrated cover story.[35]

On the day it was released, the Sports Illustrated story drew a record 3.7 million visitors to the magazine's website, SI.com.[35]

The New York Times called his 2014 signing with Brooklyn "perhaps basketball’s most celebrated and scrutinized 10-day contract." His No. 98 jersey became the top seller on the NBA's online store.[46]

Since June 2014, Collins has been in a relationship with producer Brunson Green.[47][48][49]