Jason Collins, the former NBA centre and the first openly gay athlete in a major American men’s professional sport, has died at the age of 47 after battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, his family has said.
Collins, who announced his diagnosis in 2024, described the tumour as highly aggressive and inoperable, requiring ongoing treatment including targeted chemotherapy and medication to slow its growth. Doctors had previously warned that without treatment he had only months to live.
In 2013, while a free agent, Collins made history when he publicly came out as gay in a Sports Illustrated essay, becoming the first active male athlete in a major US professional league to do so. His announcement was widely seen as a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ inclusion in professional sports.
He later rejoined the Brooklyn Nets after beginning his NBA career with the franchise when it was still the New Jersey Nets, completing a 13-season career across six teams.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver paid tribute, saying Collins’ “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball,” adding that he would be remembered for both breaking barriers and his “kindness and humanity.”
Source: BBC
His family said he “changed lives in unexpected ways” and was an inspiration to both those who knew him personally and those who followed his journey from afar.
Collins was also named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people and retired from professional basketball in 2014.
Glioblastoma, the disease that caused his death, is the most common malignant brain tumour in adults and is considered highly aggressive, with no known cure.
