Jason Collins, first openly gay NBA player, reflects on legacy, life after basketball

After a 13-year career in the NBA, Jason Collins, the first openly gay professional basketball player, is retiring. Eighteen months ago Collins came out as gay through a first person article published in Sports Illustrated. In the first line he wrote, “I am a 34-year old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” He announced his plans to retire today, again through first person, this time on The Players’ Tribune.

“It was a fighting, thrilling 13 years dedicated to making myself the best possible basketball player I could be,” Collins told the PBS NewsHour Wednesday night. “But I am beyond ready for this day to come, to make this official, and to get ready to become just a fan now, not a participant. Next time I’ll be participating will be in an exhibition game.”

Several major athletes have made personal announcements through first person articles including LeBron James earlier this year.

Collins said he really loved telling his story this way. “I put a lot of detail into that Sports Illustrated article and then also with this Players Tribune article; there’s a lot detail in there,” Collins said. “I really wanted the reader to get a glimpse of what it was like for me … a glimpse into that world that I went through.”

“Yes, I was the first out active male professional athlete in the four major sports groups but, you know, I want my legacy to be that of a good teammate.”Jason Collins was first drafted into the NBA in 2001. He then spent over a decade playing for various teams. Last year he finished the 2012-2013 season with the Washington Wizards and then became a free agent. It was while he was a free agent that he made his sexuality known. He did not play basketball again until Feb. 23, 2014, when the Brooklyn Nets signed him for a 10-day contract. He wrote that he was afraid he may not be signed again after coming out because teams would see him as a distraction.

“The ironic thing about the dreaded “D” word is that I had never felt more comfortable playing basketball than I was as an openly gay man,” he wrote. “You know what the real distraction is? Maintaining a lie 24 hours a day.”

Collins finished the 2014 season with the Brooklyn Nets where he had spent most of his playing career.

Collins’ retirement means there will be no openly gay player currently playing in any of the four major U.S. sports leagues: NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB. Michael Sam, a former football player for the University of Missouri and now a free agent, came out in February and was drafted to the St. Louis’ Rams, but has since been released. Addressing the lack of openly gay players, Collins wrote that we are not “there” yet when it comes to accepting openly gay players in major league sports.

When speaking with the NewsHour he said we will be “there” when same-sex families can wait in the family room with everyone else, as Collins’ boyfriend has done.

“We will be there when people feel that they don’t have to hide that part of what makes them unique,” Collins said. “We have a long ways to go in regards to that because there are others that I am in contact with who are hesitant about making it a public announcement for a multitude of reasons, but as a society we need to encourage them to live their authentic lives in a way that can help inspire and help the future generation.”

Collins’ last 18 months have been filled with recognition from President Obama at the State of the Union address to being named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. Yet, as he leaves the NBA he doesn’t want his sexual identity to be his only defining legacy.

“Yes, I was the first out active male professional athlete in the four major sports groups but, you know, I want my legacy to be that of a good teammate,” Collins said.

After retirement Collins will continue working with the NBA as an NBA Cares Ambassador promoting health and fitness through basketball. He will also be working with various communities, charities and organizations such as the Billie Jean King Initiative to spread of diversity and inclusion in leadership.

In more immediate plans, he told us he was about to cheer on his former team the Brooklyn Nets against his former teammate Jason Kidd.

“Even though, obviously, I wish J-Kidd the best. I hope that J-Kidd has a great coaching game, but that the Nets win,” he laughed.