13/09/2025
Online LGBTQIA+ current affairs magazine Them reports that the first gay man to come out in baskeball, Jason Collins, is fighting a brain tumour. Mr Collins family issued a statement requesting that their privacy be respected at the present time. Mr Collins is formally retired from the sport, but since coming out in 2013, has spoken out on the need for more male athletes to come out. He is also a proud supporter of African American men in sports, acting as a positive role model and speaking on issues of solidarity. For much of his career, Collins wore a No. 98 jersey in honor of the late Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming whose 1998 murder by fundamentalist Mormons has become one of the most infamous hate crimes in modern U.S. history. Earlier this year, Collins married his longtime partner, film producer Brunson Green. “When female athletes come out, everyone is like, ‘OK, cool, go in,’” he said. “But we’re still not there yet [with male athletes]. We need more and more male athletes to step forward so that we can get to that day when the game is over, everyone’s significant other is in the family room waiting for them along with everyone else’s, regardless of gender. We still have work to do with regards to male athletes.”
