Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, has passed away after a harrowing battle with a brain tumor. The retired center was 47-years-old and just one year removed from his wedding to film producer Brunson Green.
‘We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,’ the Collins family said in a statement. ‘Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar.
‘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.’
On Tuesday, before Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals in San Antonio, the NBA held a moment of silence for both Collins and Brandon Clarke, the Memphis Grizzlies forward who was pronounced dead earlier in the day.
Although he remained closeted for much of his career, Collins revealed he was gay to Sports Illustrated in May of 2013 as he languished on the free-agent market.
The following season, his former New Jersey Nets teammate Jason Kidd recruited him to Brooklyn, where Kidd was coaching the newly relocated team.
Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, has passed away after a harrowing battle with a brain tumor. He was just 47 and only a year removed from his wedding to Brunson Green
Jason Collins’ No. 98 jersey became one of NBA’s top sellers during the 2013-14 season
On February 23, 2014, Collins signed a 10-day contract with the team and in doing so, became the league’s first openly gay player. He’d remain with the Nets for the rest of the season before retiring the following November.
Kidd reacted to the news on Tuesday.
‘This one hurts,’ the NBA legend wrote on X. ‘Jason Collins was a pioneer. He had courage like you’ve never seen. He was an incredible teammate. And having him in Brooklyn at the start of my coaching journey meant so much. Those who knew him were blessed to call him a friend. You are already missed my brother. Rest in power.’
Collins’ No. 98 jersey became one of the league’s hottest items in 2014. He later revealed he chose the number to honor Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who was was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie, Wyoming in 1998.
Although some accused the team of signing Collins to attract liberal fans in Brooklyn, the Nets’ front office insisted the move was a ‘basketball decision,’ and his teammates and coaches quickly agreed.
‘Toughness, rebounding the ball, being professional,’ Kidd said of Collins. ‘He brings a lot to the table for us.’
Collins became the NBA’s first openly gay player when he came out in 2013 in an open letter
He also became symbol for gay sports fans, many of whom felt under represented by the leagues they follow.
Jared Max, a gay New York-area sports radio personality, told The Wall Street Journal at the time the signing was a turning point in the industry.
‘There aren’t just cracks in the dam,’ Max said. ‘There are places where water is flowing right through.’
By coming out, Collins also became the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sports, which is something he once struggled to envision for himself.
‘When I was younger, I dated women,’ he wrote at the time. ‘I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her.
‘I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.’
By the time Collins retired from basketball in 2014, he was in a vastly different place. Not only was he in a relationship with Green, but he’d taken on a new roll as an LGBTQ+ role model and supporter.
‘I’ll continue to encourage others to live an authentic life,’ he wrote in his retirement statement. ‘My hope is that everyone achieves that day when you step forward and reveal your truth on your own terms. Your life will be exponentially better when you celebrate all that makes you unique. Additionally, I hope to inspire others to create a world of acceptance and inclusion; not only by their words, but by their actions.’
Collins is seen at his wedding to Brunson Green. In the background is Jason’s twin, Jarron
Then Collins’ life took a tragic turn last year. As Collins revealed in a December essay for ESPN.com, he had been battling glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor often seen as a death sentence for patients.
He and Green first noticed his symptoms shortly after their wedding in May of 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,’ he wrote. ‘In August, we were supposed to go to the US Open, just as every year, but when the car came to take us to the airport, I was nowhere near ready. And for the first time in decades, we missed the flight because I couldn’t stay focused to pack.
‘I had been having weird symptoms like this for a week or two, but unless something is really wrong, I’m going to push through. I’m an athlete.’
This prompted Collins to get a CT scan at UCLA, which led to the discovery of his cancer.
His life changed irreparably. As he wrote on ESPN.com, the first things to go were Collins’ short-term memory and mental clarity. And although prescription drugs would help to clear his brain fog, the cancer treatments were ultimately unsuccessful.
The New Jersey Nets (L-R) Lucious Harris, Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin Jason Kidd and Jason Collins are pictured during the 2003 NBA Finals during Game 1 in San Antonio
Collins time as an LGBTQ+ icon was a considerable departure from his life as a talented seven-footer growing up in California.
Along with his twin brother, Jarron, Collins helped turn Stanford into a national basketball powerhouse from 1997 to 2001. Along the way, the North Hollywood native became an engaged student, befriending classmates such as Chelsea Clinton, before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in humanities and a master’s degree in social psychology.
He would be picked in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft by the then-New Jersey Nets, and quickly helped reverse the team’s sagging fortunes.
Partnering with Kidd and a supporting cast that included Kerry Kittles, Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin, Collins’ defense and hustle helped turn the Nets into an Eastern Conference power in the early 2000s. They would reach the NBA Finals twice, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, before key players made their way to other teams in the early 2000s.
He was also a favorite teammate of Kidd’s, the Hall-of-Fame point guard who remained supportive of Collins before and after he came out of the closet.
‘Jason’s sexuality doesn’t change the fact that he is a great friend and was a great teammate,’ Kidd wrote on social media in 2013.
Jarron (right) and Jason (left) Collins are pictured during their college days at Stanford
Jarron (left) and Jason (right) Collins are pictured playinga gainst each other in 2003
Collins is pictured (from left to right) with Nets coach Byron Scott, executive Rod Thorn, Aaron Williams, Dikembe Mutombo, Kenyon Martin, Jason Kidd and (kneeling) Richard Jefferson
As well as playing for the Nets, Collins represented the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.
‘Jason Collins’ impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations,’ NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
‘He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador. Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.
‘On behalf of the NBA, I send my heartfelt condolences to Jason’s husband, Brunson, and his family, friends and colleagues across our leagues.’
