Jason Collins is an American professional basketball player, playing for Stanford University, being picked 18th overall by the Houston Rockets in 2001 and played a total of 13 NBA seasons for 7 NBA teams before retiring in November 2014. At the time of his announcement, Collins was a free agent after the end of the 2012-13 NBA season, having played for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards. It was not until a year later that he was on an NBA roster again, signing a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets on February 23, 2014. On the same day, he played his first game as an openly gay basketball player, getting his first minutes in a road game against his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, receiving a standing ovation upon checking in (Kian, Anderson, …show more content…
However, Collins was known more for his “intangibles” and physicality; being a 7’ 0 feet and a 225-lb. athlete helped him become a capable defensive player, making hustle and game-saving plays and was often tasked to guard the opposing team’s best frontcourt players (power forwards or centers) to make it “as miserable as possible.” (Collins, “I’m Out.”). Additionally, he was well known for being a positive and well-respected locker room presence among his teammates and coaches (Deeks, “The best of what's …show more content…
Because of the decreasing cultural homophobia in American society, more gays and lesbians were accepted, signifying the transition from heteronormativity to homonormativity (Kian, Anderson, and Shipka 622). To put it simply, Collins’ announcement was met with immense reception and praise by the majority of the public and media. Within the first few days and weeks after Collins’ coming out, coverage in newspapers and reports applauded Collins for a “landmark” moment not just for sport fans but also for the LGBT community in the free society of the US (Kian, Anderson, and Shipka 625). Most of the public support came from many public figures, ranging from political figures like presidents, actors, singers, team owners and many