Jason Collins came out as the first openly gay male athlete and it was a topic of conversation at Lakers exit interviews. Metta World Peace showed up to Lakers exit interviews in a Cookie Monster T-shirt, which he happened to compare to Jason Collins coming out as a homosexual man, but Peace was very supportive.
“Whether it’s a free country or not, you should be free to act and do as you want to do, as long as it’s not violent…I came here in a Cookie Monster shirt but I wanted to…And I was going to wear the pants but I thought you [media] guys were going to judge me. And I was going to wear the hat, too, but I figured you guys would judge me and I didn’t want Mitch to judge me….but, I should have wore it. You should be free to do and act how you want to act.”
Peace continued to show support for Collins in a more serious manner.
“It can just bring unnecessary stress to your heart, to your mind and when you can release it and talk about it, you feel better. And that’s how it should be with anything, not just coming out if you’re gay or if you have a mental issue and whatever other issue or stigma there is out there.”
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