Jason Collins
Jason Collins
Jason Paul Collinsis an American retired professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for Stanford University where he was an All-American in 2000–01, before being drafted 18th overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. He went on to play for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets...
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth2 December 1978
CityLos Angeles, CA
I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand.
I'm a veteran, and I've earned the right to be heard. I'll lead by example and show that gay players are no different from straight ones. I'm not the loudest person in the room, but I'll speak up when something isn't right. And try to make everyone laugh.
Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it's a good place to start.
When I was younger I dated women. 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.
When you're guarding him, it's like pushing a wall for 48 minutes or however long you're in there. He really tries to lean on you. I just tried to do a good job pushing him and make him shoot over me. Whenever he's going to turn to the basket, just stick my chin there or my chest, and hold my position.
Well, Jermaine O'Neal shooting jumpers is what we want. We just have to do a better job putting a hand in his face.
We need to get our heads out of our (butts).
When you're at home, you have to defend your home court. Whatever home court advantage we have, it's a cool energy level.
He got fined $15,000? Well, maybe we need to get fined, too, because there were some calls tonight that didn't go our way.
He got fined $15,000? Maybe we should get fined, because there were a couple of calls that didn't go our way. But this is the NBA. Referees are going to make calls as a player, you have to play through them.
He might be getting a little frustrated. I think any player that gets in foul trouble consistently might be a little frustrated. There's a number of reasons, but probably number one, he's not on the court as much as he wants to be. That all goes back to playing him tough on the offensive end and attacking.
Guarding Shaq is not a one-man job. It's going to be by committee.