NBA center and veteran, Jason Collins, 34, comes out as gay in a story for Sports Illustrated. This is the first time in sports history that an (active) player has come out of the closet. During the interview, Collins explains why he had waited until now to make the announcement. Collins says that he did not set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport, but since he is, he would be more than happy to start the conversation. He writes that he wished he was not the kid in the classroom that raised his hand and said he was different, and if he had his way, someone else would have already done this, but no one has, which is why he raised his hand.
Collins has received an outstanding amount of support from other pro athletes, celebrities, NBA Commissioner David Stern, former President Bill Clinton, and even our current President Barack Obama, who said that he was 'impressed by Jason's courage' in coming out.
When Collins first made the decision to come out, he decided to tell his aunt, who's reaction surprised him. She expressed to Collins that she had known that he was gay for years and at that moment, she gave him support. Collins was finally comfortable in his own skin. He describes the feeling of relief to an oven, saying that some people know and accept their sexuality right away, while others need more time to bake and prepare. He knows, because he was baking for thirty-three years.
Sadly to say, it has not been all love for Collins. He caught some backlash and become the target of online death threats since announcing he was gay. Opinions were given by almost all who support Collins and those who strongly dislike him for this reason, like NFL players Mike Wallace and Alphonso Smith, who took to Twitter to post their personal beliefs and how they felt about the situation.
