Jason Collins celebrated as ‘a trailblazer’ by out LGBTQ athletes

John Amaechi’s favorite memory of Jason Collins is one for which Collins wasn’t physically present.

Not long after Collins became the first openly gay athlete to play in any of the major North American men’s sports leagues in 2013, Amaechi was giving a speech in a city he can’t quite recall – Chicago, maybe – when he met a young man in the audience. He vividly remembers what happened next.

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The man told Amaechi, who came out as gay in 2007 after retiring from professional basketball, that he deeply related to Collins’ story.

“Not just relating. It was like he was feeding his soul,” Amaechi recalled. “To watch as somebody is lifted, literally like made more tall and substantial, from listening to what somebody else said, is remarkable. And he was. You could see, even as he recounted the things that he heard, he rose. That tells you something about a person.”

Collins, a 13-year NBA veteran, died May 12 after an eight-month battle with brain cancer. He was 47.

His death was mourned by other out queer male athletes, who remember Collins as a kind spirit and a pioneer for LGBTQ inclusion in sports.

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Jason Collins, NBA’s first openly gay player, dies at 47. See his trailblazing career.

Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, died May 12 after an eight-month battle with stage 4 glioblastoma. He was 47.  

Collins made history in April 2013 when he came out publicly in a Sports Illustrated essay, becoming the first openly gay active athlete in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues. The 13-year NBA veteran played for six franchises and later became an NBA Cares Ambassador.  

Survived by his husband, Brunson Green, his parents, his twin brother Jarron, tributes to Collins poured in from basketball and beyond. See his trailblazing career.

1 / 13

Jason Collins, NBA’s first openly gay player, dies at 47. See his trailblazing career.

Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, died May 12 after an eight-month battle with stage 4 glioblastoma. He was 47.  

Collins made history in April 2013 when he came out publicly in a Sports Illustrated…

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Publish date : 2026-05-14 00:31:00

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