Jason Collins
Jason Paul Collins ( born December 2, 1978 in Northridge, California) is an American professional basketball player who plays on the position of the center. He is the first professional athletes in the four major U.S. professional leagues (National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League), who announced during his career, his homosexuality.
Career
Collins was selected by the Houston Rockets as the 18th draft pick in the NBA Draft 2001. However, the Rockets traded him directly with his future teammates Richard Jefferson ( 13 pick ) and Brandon Armstrong ( 23 pick ) to the New Jersey Nets to acquire Eddie Griffin (7th pick ). The team of coach Byron Scott, which was led by point guard Jason Kidd to Collins played as a backup center Todd MacCulloch and power forward Kenyon Martin in the rotation. The Nets reached in both 2002 and 2003, respectively, the NBA Finals, but failed each against the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. Against the Spurs started Collins in all six games, but could not stop his opponent Tim Duncan. In the following years, Collins has established itself as -starting center, but with no statistically noticed: with the Nets, he scored peak values of 6.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game. 2007 Collins was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies, but could not prevail against Pau Gasol and Darko Miličić and was replaced after only 31 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves, who soon charges him to the Atlanta Hawks. The team led by swingman Joe Johnson to Collins established as a backup center from Sasa Patschulia and played three years until he came in 2012 to the Boston Celtics, who exchanged him to 32 games on the Washington Wizards. In February 2014 Collins returned to the Nets, who are now based in Brooklyn. There he initially wrote a 10 -day contract.
Private life
Collins has a twin brother named Jarron Collins, who was also a NBA professional. He spent eight years in a relationship with basketball player Carolyn Moos and became engaged to her, before he in 2009 the relationship ended.
On April 29, 2013 Collins made his homosexuality known; so he became the first professional athletes in the four major U.S. professional leagues (National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Football League, National Hockey League), who outed himself during his career. His coming-out received a favorable response: His brother Jarron, U.S. President Barack Obama, NBA President David Stern, NBA stars like Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Steve Nash, current Wizards teammates John Wall, Emeka Okafor or Martell Webster, former colleagues such as Jason Kidd, Zaza Pachulia and Doc Rivers, and more. Collins praised for his actions. Collins also revealed that his jersey number # 98 (which he wears since 2012 ) a memory of Matthew Shepard is that a homophobic murder fell victim in 1998.