NBA’s first openly gay star retires, says ‘there are a lot’ of closeted players
By Josh Haggis
NBA star Jason Collins has announced his retirement.
Collins, 35, became the first openly gay player in any of North America’s four major professional sports – baseball, basketball, American football and ice hockey – when he came out in April 2013.
In a column for Sports Illustrated, Collins has spoken about the struggles gay athletes face in professional sport, revealing that he knows of pro-athletes that are still in the closet.
“There are still no publicly gay players in the NFL, NHL or major league baseball,” said Collins. “Believe me: They exist. Every pro sport has them. I know some of them personally.”
He continued: “When we get to the point where a gay pro athlete is no longer forced to live in fear that he’ll be shunned by teammates or outed by tabloids, when we get to the point where he plays while his significant other waits in the family room, when we get to the point where he’s not compelled to hide his true self and is able to live an authentic life, then coming out won’t be such a big deal.
“But we’re not there yet,” he added.
Meanwhile, Olympic legend Ian Thorpe has revealed that he is “ashamed” that he didn’t come out earlier – find out more here.
More Stories:
Read Paul Bettany’s amazing response to homophobic troll
What happens when gay men read ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’?