Jason Collins: First Active U.S. Athlete to Come Out As Gay

NBA veteran Jason Collins made history Monday when he came out as the first openly gay athlete on a major U.S. sports team. 

Collins is a Northridge native and attended high school at Harvard Westlake.  He has been in the NBA since 2001 and has played for six different teams. He spent the most recent season playing for the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics.

Jason Collins is the first athlete in the four major U.S. sports to come out.

Collins said in the May issue of Sports Illustrated, "I'm a thirty-four-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay."

In the article he reveals that the purpose of his decision to open up about his sexual orientation is to spark open dialogue in an industry that has condemned homosexuality in the past.

He argues, "Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it's a good place to start. It all comes down to education. I'll sit down with any player who's uneasy about my coming out."

Collins struggled with his sexuality for a while before officially coming out. "I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue."

Members of the NBA have supported this social breakthrough in the basketball industry. NBA Commissioner, David Stern, said in a statement, "Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue."

L.A. Lakers guard, Kobe Bryant, publicly offered his support to Collins through a tweet. "Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU."

Former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, sent Collins a message of support today calling the decision "an important movement for professional sports and for the LGBT community." His daughter Chelsea, who was a former Stanford classmate of Collins',  tweeted, "Very proud of my friend Jason Collins for having the strength and courage to be the first openly gay player in the NBA."

In 2007, former basketball player John Amaechi came out as gay but only after he had retired. Collins is the first player on a U.S. sports team to openly come out while active in sport.