NBA's First Openly Gay Player Dies at 47

Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player, is being remembered as a trailblazer whose impact was felt far beyond basketball. The former center has died at 47 from glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain tumor, his family said Tuesday.

• "Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar," his family said in a statement shared by the NBA. "We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly."

• Collins, a 7-footer out of Stanford, spent 13 seasons in the NBA after being drafted in the first round in 2001 and traded to the then–New Jersey Nets on draft night, Sports Illustrated reports. He played 735 games for six teams, including the Nets, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks, Celtics, and Wizards, and reached the 2002 NBA Finals with New Jersey. At Stanford, he was an All-American and later a Hall of Fame inductee alongside his twin brother, Jarron. He made almost 61% of his shots at Stanford, a record that still stands.
• His biggest moment came off the court: In a 2013 Sports Illustrated essay, Collins came out as gay, making him the first active male athlete in any of the four major North American pro leagues to do so. "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport," he wrote at the time. "But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation." He returned to the Brooklyn Nets later that season on a series of short-term contracts before retiring in 2014 and becoming an NBA Cares ambassador and advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sports.
• Last week, Collins received the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award at the Green Sports Alliance Summit, the AP reports. He was too ill to attend so Jarron, who played 10 seasons in the NBA, accepted the award for him.

• NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Collins' influence went "far beyond basketball," saying he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and the wider sports world "more inclusive and welcoming for future generations." Stanford praised him as a "trail blazer for equality" and "champion for LGBTQ+ inclusion." Collins, who disclosed his brain cancer diagnosis in November, is survived by his husband, producer Brunson Green, his parents, and Jarron.
• Before the Minnesota-San Antonio playoff game Tuesday, a moment of silence was held for Collins and Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, whose death was also announced Tuesday, reports the AP.