Famous NBA player says people who think there isn’t ‘a bunch of gay players’ in all elite sports are ‘stupid’
Charles Barkley reflects on the legacy of Jason Collins. (Mitchell Layton/Getty)
Former NBA player Charles Barkley has called out “homophobic society” as he weighed in on the dialogue around publicly out, gay professional sports players.
Appearing on NBA Tip-Off, Barkley spoke about the death of NBA player Jason Collins. Collins, the first openly gay NBA player, died on Tuesday (12 May) aged 47.
Barkley referred to Collins as a “trailblazer” as he paid his respects to the late player.
When the 63-year-old played, Barkley was nicknamed ‘Sir Charles’ for his prowess on the court. He was an 11-time NBA All-Star and became one of the NBA’s best rebounders and scorers.
Referring to Collins as an openly gay athlete, commentator Kenny Smith remarked: “13 years ago it was a big deal. The reason why it doesn’t feel as big now at times is because of people like him.”
Barkley interjected to share his thoughts that an NBA player coming out would “still be a big deal”.
“We live in a homophobic society,” Barkley continued. “Anybody who thinks we ain’t got a bunch of gay players in all sports, they’re just stupid.”
“There is such an animosity towards the gay community,” Barkley also added.
Commenter Ernie Johnson also shared that Collins valiantly used his platform to tell the world “you don’t have to live in the shadows.”
“He said ‘your life is so much better when you just show up as your true self,’” Johnson said.
Who was Jason Collins?
Collins started his career with the New Jersey Nets in 2001 and his career saw him go on to play with Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston, Washington. Then, he returned to the Nets after they moved to Brooklyn.
When Collins signed with the Nets in 2014, after coming out, he became the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American pro sports leagues.
Collins retired in 2014. In announcing his retirement to Sports Illustrated he said it had “been 18 exhilarating months” since his decision in April 2013 to come out publicly as gay.
In May, Collins married his long-time partner, Brunson Green, in an Austin, Texas, ceremony.
The athlete shared in September last year that he had been diagnosed with brain cancer and was undergoing treatment. Three months later, he shared an update that the cancer had progressed to Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.
Announcing Collins’ death, his family shared an emotional message. It read: “We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma.
“Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar,” the statement from his family continued.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
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