Jason Collins was born on Deceber 2, 1978. He played for 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He started with the New Jersey Nets and also played for the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, and ended his career with the Brooklyn Nets.
After the 2012–13 NBA season concluded, Collins publicly came out as gay.

He became the first publicly gay athlete to play in the NBA and was featured as Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” for its April issue. Collins has received high praise and support for deciding to publicly reveal that he is gay. NBA star Kobe Bryant praised Collin’s decision, as did others included former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. Collins’ corporate sponsor, Nike, also offered their support. However, he did receive his share of criticism.

ESPN basketball analyst Mr. Chris Broussard stated, “I don’t believe Collins can live an openly homosexual lifestyle and still be a Christian….but I think he displayed bravery with his announcement.”

To which Collins responded with “This is all about tolerance and acceptance and America is the best country in the world because we’re all entitled to our opinions and beliefs but we don’t have to agree. And obviously I don’t agree with his statement.”