Veteran center Jason Collins made history on Sunday night becoming the first openly gay player in the NBA. Although former players like John Amaechi have come out after their career ended, Collins is the first to reveal his homosexuality while still being an active player in the league.
Not only was it a first for the NBA having an active player, but Collins is the first to come out in all of the four major sports in this country. That will likely change next year with draft prospect Michael Sam set to be taken in the 2014 NFL Draft, but Collins broke down barriers while facing the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center on Sunday.
After the Brooklyn Nets beat the Lakers, Pau Gasol spoke to the media and referred to Collins as an icon according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
Pau on Jason Collins: "He has become an icon and he's going to have to carry some responsibility with it, which I think he's fine with"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 24, 2014
With Collins and Sam leading the way, gay players in the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB will likely start to surface. Collins has helped make the final push for homosexuals in professional sports and in the near future it may be common place for teams in all four leagues to have one or more players having no problem disclosing their sexuality publicly.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, the losing continued for the storied franchise with the Nets proving to be too much for Gasol and company. Brooklyn continues to make strides as a legitimate playoff team while Los Angeles simply can’t seem to get it figured out in one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory.
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NBA News: Jason Collins Introductory Press Conference