Jason Collins, the NBA player who made history in 2013 as the first openly gay active athlete in a major American professional sport, died Tuesday at the age of 47 following an eight-month battle with an aggressive brain tumour, his family announced.
Jason Collins, whose public coming out reshaped conversations about inclusion in professional sports, has died at 47. His family confirmed the news Tuesday, disclosing that Collins had spent the final eight months of his life fighting a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer — a diagnosis he had shared publicly late last year.
Collins played 13 seasons in the NBA, suiting up for six different franchises including the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and Washington Wizards before a brief stint with the Brooklyn Nets. He was primarily a defensive centre, valued for his physicality and leadership in the locker room.
His place in sporting history was secured in April 2013, when he penned a first-person essay for Sports Illustrated announcing he was gay — becoming the first active player in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues to do so publicly. The disclosure prompted widespread praise from across the sports world, politics, and beyond, including a personal phone call from then-President Barack Obama.
In the 2013–14 season, Collins signed with the Brooklyn Nets and played 22 games, making him the first openly gay player to appear in an NBA game. Although he retired following that season, his impact extended far beyond the court.
In the years after his playing career, Collins became an ambassador for the NBA and a prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport. The league appointed him to represent its values and engage with communities, a role he embraced with the same quiet resolve that had defined his playing career.
News of his death drew tributes from across the sporting and cultural landscape, with many remembering Collins not only for the courage his 2013 announcement required, but for the grace with which he carried his public role in the years that followed.
He was 47 years old.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Collins's 2013 coming out was a watershed moment in professional sport, helping to shift cultural attitudes toward LGBTQ+ athletes and prompting policy discussions across major leagues about inclusion and anti-discrimination protections.
- His death at 47 is a reminder of how recently these barriers were broken — barely a decade ago — and of how much his advocacy contributed to the increasingly open environment younger LGBTQ+ athletes now enter.
- The NBA and broader sporting world will likely pause to reflect on his legacy, potentially spurring renewed commitments to the inclusion work Collins championed.
Background
For decades, professional sport in North America remained one of the last major cultural arenas in which openly gay identity was effectively invisible at the elite level. While a number of athletes came out after retiring, the calculation for active players — involving endorsements, locker room dynamics, and fan reception — was seen as prohibitive.
That changed on April 29, 2013, when Collins's Sports Illustrated essay was published. Written in a measured, thoughtful voice, the piece described a life lived in private conflict between his identity and his career, and the decision to finally speak openly. The response was largely positive, with President Obama, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and NBA Commissioner David Stern all offering public support.
Collins went unsigned for the following season before the Brooklyn Nets signed him in February 2014, giving him the opportunity to become the first openly gay player to compete in an NBA game. He retired at the end of that season, but his influence on sport and culture had already been cemented. He disclosed his brain cancer diagnosis publicly in late 2025, and fought the illness for approximately eight months before his death.
Key Perspectives
The NBA: The league embraced Collins as an ambassador and advocate, reflecting a broader institutional commitment to inclusion that has grown significantly since his announcement. His death is expected to prompt formal tributes from the league.
LGBTQ+ advocates and athletes: For many in this community, Collins represented proof that an openly gay man could compete and be respected at the highest level of professional sport. His legacy is seen as foundational to the more open environment that exists today.
Critics/Skeptics: Some observers noted at the time that Collins's coming out, while significant, highlighted how rare such disclosures remained — and that structural change in sport's culture would require more than individual acts of courage. Questions about how much has truly changed at the grassroots and international levels of sport persist.
What to Watch
- Formal tributes from the NBA, current players, and fellow alumni will offer a measure of how deeply Collins's legacy is felt within the sport.
- Whether his death prompts renewed public discussion about LGBTQ+ inclusion in professional sport globally, particularly in leagues and countries where progress has been slower.
- How Collins is memorialised long-term — including whether any award, programme, or initiative is established in his name — will indicate the lasting institutional impact of his trailblazing role.