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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| NBA player Jason Collins comes out as gay | NBA player Jason Collins comes out as gay |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| US basketball player Jason Collins has come out as gay, the first active male athlete in a major American professional team sport to do so. | US basketball player Jason Collins has come out as gay, the first active male athlete in a major American professional team sport to do so. |
| He declared his sexuality in an article for Sports Illustrated, announcing: "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay." | |
| Collins said he had struggled with his sexuality for years. | Collins said he had struggled with his sexuality for years. |
| Former NBA player John Amaechi came out as gay in 2007, but he had already retired. | Former NBA player John Amaechi came out as gay in 2007, but he had already retired. |
| Former US President Bill Clinton was among those who sent messages of support to Collins on Monday. | Former US President Bill Clinton was among those who sent messages of support to Collins on Monday. |
| Symbolic shirt number | |
| NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement: "Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue." | NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement: "Jason has been a widely respected player and teammate throughout his career and we are proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue." |
| Sports label Nike, which has endorsed Collins, also supported his decision. | Sports label Nike, which has endorsed Collins, also supported his decision. |
| "Jason is a Nike athlete," its statement said. "We are a company committed to diversity and inclusion." | |
| In the Sports Illustrated article, Collins, who has most recently played for the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics, said: "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. | In the Sports Illustrated article, Collins, who has most recently played for the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics, said: "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.' | "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." | "If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand." |
| He added that this month's bombings at the Boston marathon had reinforced the conviction that he should talk publicly about his sexuality. | |
| "Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?" Collins wrote. | "Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?" Collins wrote. |
| Collins, who is professionally a free agent, having played 11 seasons in the NBA with six teams, said he had tried to suppress his feelings through relationships with women. | Collins, who is professionally a free agent, having played 11 seasons in the NBA with six teams, said he had tried to suppress his feelings through relationships with women. |
| "When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged," he said. "I thought I had to live a certain way. | "When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged," he said. "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." | "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." |
| Collins said he decided he should go public after his former roommate at California's Stanford University, Congressman Joe Kennedy, scion of the Kennedy political dynasty, marched in a Boston gay parade. | Collins said he decided he should go public after his former roommate at California's Stanford University, Congressman Joe Kennedy, scion of the Kennedy political dynasty, marched in a Boston gay parade. |
| Collins explained that in 2012 he changed his uniform number to 98 - a number with significance for the gay community in the US - as a gesture of solidarity. | |
| In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was brutally killed in what has been cited as one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in the US. |