With Jason Collins, this morning becomes a “where were you when heard the news” moment. We have the first ever openly gay athlete from one of the four major sports leagues: NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL. Let the Jackie Robinson analogies to Jason Collins begin. The Jackie Robinson analogy does work on some levels, it’s flawed in other ways. But we can get to that later.
Jason Collins is the first openly gay jock who will play, and go to the locker room with his homosexual orientation public knowledge. Expect a HUGE media crush tonight when the Chicago Bulls take on the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA playoffs tonight.
In Jason Collins most recent game on April 17th, for the Washington Wizards versus the Chicago Bulls, Collins scored 2 points and had 3 rebounds in 17 minutes.
This story appears in the May 6, 2013, issue of Sports Illustrated.
“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”