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Jason Collins did not get a contract to play this season in the NBA, and today he writes a piece at The Players' Tribune announcing that he is retiring. The former Harvard-Westlake star played in the NBA for 13 years, but only for half a season (last season with the Brooklyn Nets) after coming out as gay in April 2013. He headlines today's guest column simply "I'm out." Excerpt:
Most people reading this probably don’t know me from SportsCenter. Most people know me as “the gay basketball player.” I have been an openly gay man for approximately three percent of my life. I have been a professional basketball player for almost half of it.
In order to understand why I am so lucky to be sitting here today as a person who is finally comfortable in his own skin, you need to understand how basketball saved me. I needed to live the past few years as an openly gay basketball player in order to be at peace retiring today.
Cropped photo: Maureen Cavanagh / The Players' Tribune
