May 12 (Reuters) – Jason Collins, the first openly gay active player in the NBA, has died at the age of 47 after battling cancer, his family said on Tuesday.
Collins revealed in September that he was undergoing treatment for a brain tumour and later disclosed he had stage four glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” the family said in a statement.
Collins made headlines in 2013 when he became the first active male athlete in one of North America’s four major professional sports leagues to publicly come out as gay.
The center played 13 seasons in the NBA. He was selected 18th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2001 draft then was traded to the then-New Jersey Nets on draft night. He also had stints with the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.
Collins helped the Nets reach back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 alongside teammates Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson.
After a first-person essay in Sports Illustrated disclosing he was gay, Collins received widespread support across the sports world, including from then-U.S. President Barack Obama.
“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. “Our family will miss him dearly.”
Arn Tellem, Collins’ former agent and current vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons, said the former player’s decision to come out changed lives.
“Jason’s legacy stands as a beacon for tolerance, dignity, respect, inclusion, compassion, and understanding,” Tellem said in a statement. “He left this world better than he found it.”
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Peter Rutherford)
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