Gay basketball legend Jason Collins shares devastating health news
Jason Collins made NBA history when he came out as gay in 2013. (Getty)
Jason Collins made NBA history when he came out as gay in 2013. (Getty)
Retired basketball legend Jason Collins, the first active openly gay player in NBA history, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma.
The 47-year-old shared his diagnosis in an emotional essay for ESPN. He explained that his family’s statement in September, announcing his brain tumour, was brief to keep details private. However, he wants to speak for himself now.
“I have Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer,” Collins writes. “It came on incredibly fast.”
Collins was a centre for 13 seasons in the NBA, playing for six teams from 2001 to 2014. He started his career with the New Jersey Nets in 2001, his career saw him go on to play with Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston, Washington and then back to the Nets after they moved to Brooklyn.
Off the court, in 2013, Collins came out in a Sports Illustrated cover story. He was widely praised, with many of his fellow players publicly supporting him.
He retired in 2014. Since then, Collins has been in a relationship with film producer Brunson Green. The pair married in May 2025.
“In May I married the love of my life, Brunson Green, at a ceremony in Austin, Texas, that couldn’t have been more perfect,” Collins wrote.
He continues that a few months later, he began experiencing “weird symptoms.” A CT scan revealed the extent of a “multiform” glioblastoma.
Also, Collins adds that he has undergone radiation and chemotherapy. He further stated that his fight to live has reminded him of his coming-out experience.
“I feel like I’m right back in that position now, where I might be the first person through this wall,” he writes.
“We aren’t going to sit back and let this cancer kill me without giving it a hell of a fight.
“After I came out, someone I really respect told me that my choice to live openly could help someone who I might never meet. I’ve held onto that for years. And if I can do that again now, then that matters.”
He also shared his love for the people around him as he’s undergone this life-changing experience.
“The past 12 years since have been the best of my life”
“One thing I’ve always prided myself on is having the right people in my life,” he added.
“When I came out publicly as the first active gay basketball player in 2013, I told a lot of the people closest to me before I did so.
“I wasn’t worried it would leak before the story came out, because I trusted the people I told. And guess what? Nothing leaked. I got to tell my own story, the way I wanted to.
“And now I can honestly say, the past 12 years since have been the best of my life. Your life is so much better when you just show up as your true self, unafraid to be your true self, in public or private.”
