Jason Collins at a White House Pride event – Photo: Facebook
Jason Collins, the first openly gay NBA player, is reportedly undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Collins made headlines more than a decade ago when he came out publicly in a first-person essay for Sports Illustrated.
The 41-year-old former center earned All-American honors at Stanford before being drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2001. Over his 13-year career, he played for several NBA teams, including the New Jersey Nets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and Brooklyn Nets.
Collins currently serves as an NBA Ambassador, helping to promote the league by appearing at events, engaging with fans, and supporting its initiatives.
As reported by the LGBTQ news website Outsports, the NBA shared a statement from Collins’ family on September 11 announcing his diagnosis.
“NBA Ambassador and 13-year NBA veteran Jason Collins is currently undergoing treatment for a brain tumor,” the statement reads. “Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason’s health and well-being.”
The following statement was issued today on behalf of Jason Collins and his family: pic.twitter.com/36lKwB7NiR
Neither the family nor the NBA shared additional details, such as when Collins was diagnosed or what treatment he is receiving.
When Collins came out in 2013, he became only the second active openly gay male athlete in major U.S. professional sports, following Major League Soccer player Robbie Rogers.
“No one wants to live in fear. I’ve always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don’t sleep well. I never have,” Collins wrote in Sports Illustrated. “But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger and sleep a little more soundly. … I was certain that my world would fall apart if anyone knew. And yet when I acknowledged my sexuality I felt whole for the first time.”
Upon coming out, Collins received support from prominent figures, including President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and former President Bill Clinton. Obama said he “couldn’t be prouder” of him.
Collins, a defensive specialist, finished his career with more than 2,600 points and 2,700 rebounds, helping the Nets reach the NBA Finals. Since retiring, he has advocated for greater LGBTQ inclusion across sports, including supporting an NBA LGBTQ youth clinic held during the men’s NCAA Final Four in San Antonio.
Earlier this year, Collins married his husband, film producer Brunson Green, in a private ceremony in Austin, Texas, according to People magazine.
After years of playing while closeted, Jesse Kortuem says the HBO series Heated Rivalry helped him finally reconcile his identity with the sport he loves.
Jesse Kortuem, a hockey player who has competed in several adult leagues but never at the professional level, says he was inspired to come out after watching HBO's Heated Rivalry, a romance centered on closeted gay hockey players.
In a Facebook post, Kortuem recalled growing up in Minnesota as the youngest of four boys and playing hockey from a young age, while struggling to reconcile his love for the sport with his sexuality.
"To any hockey player, the sounds of the rink and the feel of cold air are unmistakable. The slapshots, the pucks hitting the boards, the skates carving fresh ice, and the high-pitched clang of a puck hitting the post bring immense comfort," Kortuem wrote. "For a long time, however, the rink did not feel like a place where I could be all of me. I felt I had to hide parts of myself for far too long."
Grindr will disable its location feature and roll out additional privacy protections for users staying at the Olympic Village during the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games.
The company announced the stepped-up security measures on its blog, saying the changes are intended to protect LGBTQ athletes -- particularly those from countries where homosexuality is criminalized or punishable by death -- from what it described as "real safety risks."
"Grindr shows users who's nearby and how far away they are," the blog post read. "In most contexts, that's useful. In the Olympic Village where thousands of athletes are packed into a small area, those same features may become a liability.
At least 44 out LGBTQ athletes will compete at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, setting a record for a Winter Games, according to the LGBTQ sports news site Outsports.
The Games, which officially kick off on Friday, February 6, will feature 34 out women and 10 out men -- a roughly 7-to-2 ratio that is significantly lower than the 9-to-1 ratio seen at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
According to Outsports, the lower ratio reflects the fact that the Winter Olympics feature fewer team sports, where out female athletes are more common. In Milan, 22 of the 34 out women are ice hockey players, making hockey the sport with the largest LGBTQ presence.
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