Community

Openly gay NBA player Jason Collins marches in Boston Pride parade

Jun 09 2013
Written by Joseph McCormick

Recently out openly gay NBA player Jason Collins, has taken part in his first gay pride parade, after coming out as gay last month.

Collins in May spoke about his sexuality, confirming he is gay in an article in Sports Illustrated magazine. He said: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”

Donning a t-shirt emblazoned with the message: “#BETRUE, he took to the streets of Boston on Saturday, alongside his Stanford University roommate, Congressman Joe Kennedy, for its annual gay pride parade, causing a buzz on Twitter as fans tweeted pictures and messages of support.

“It’s an opportunity to celebrate with my community. And celebrate acceptance and tolerance with good friends,” he said.

A recent poll revealed that over two-thirds of Americans support Collins’ decision to come out as gay.

After coming out, the star was subject to a tirade of abuse on the social networking site Twitter, including a number of death threats.

Despite some abusive messages, Collins received thousands of messages of support, including from President Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, his teammates, coaches, the Commissioner of the NBA, and countless others.

In his first interview since coming out as gay, Collins said he hoped other professional athletes would follow his lead, and he later revealed that he wore the number 98 jersey in a silent gesture of solidarity with the gay community.

Jason since appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel show with twin brother Jarron, who joked that he had missed “red flags” that his brother was gay, and was given a t-shirt which said “I’m the straight one”.