Jason Paul Collins is an American professional basketball

 

Jason Paul Collins

Jason Paul Collins is an American professional basketball center with the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association. Collins attended Stanford University, where he was an All-American in 2000–01. Wikipedia

Born: December 2, 1978 (age 34), Los Angeles

Team: Washington Wizards (#98 / Center)

Siblings: Jarron Collins

Education: Stanford University, Harvard-Westlake School

 Professional career

As a rookie along with Richard Jefferson, Collins played a significant role in the New Jersey Nets' first ever NBA Finals berth in 2002 against the Los Angeles Lakers. In the 2002–03 NBA season Collins took over the starting center role for the Nets and helped the franchise back to the NBA Finals. Collins signed with the Atlanta Hawks on September 2, 2009.[11] Collins re-signed with the Hawks in the 2010 offseason.[12]

On July 31, 2012, Collins signed an undisclosed deal with the Boston Celtics.[13] On February 21, 2013, Collins and Leandro Barbosa were traded to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Jordan Crawford.[14]

Collins' twin brother, Jarron Collins, also played in the NBA.[16]

“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport,” Collins wrote. The first wave of public reaction to Collins’s announcement was overwhelmingly positive. President Obama called Collins “to express his support and said he was impressed by his courage,” according to a White House official. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, former NFL star and current daytime TV talk host Michael Strahan and former president Bill Clinton were among others who issed public salutes to Collins.

Even amid widespread speculation that one or more male athletes would soon break the sexuality barrier — former Ravens safety Brendon Ayanbadejo suggested in recent interviews that one or more NFL players were preparing to come out — Collins’s announcement stunned people around the NBA, including his Wizards teammates. Several of them said they had no inclination Collins was gay.
about :  Jason Paul Collins