NBA’s first openly gay player Jason Collins diagnosed with brain tumour

Former NBA player Jason Collins, the league’s first openly gay athlete, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and is currently receiving treatment, the NBA announced on Thursday. The league, speaking on behalf of Collins and his family, asked fans for support and prayers while requesting privacy as Collins focuses on his health and recovery.

Collins, 46, was selected 18th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft and played for the New Jersey Nets, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks, Celtics, and Wizards over a career spanning more than a decade. He returned to the Nets when the team relocated to Brooklyn and retired in November 2014.

During his playing career, Collins made history as the first active NBA player to come out as gay, receiving widespread support from teammates, fans, and league figures, including Kobe Bryant and then-commissioner David Stern. He famously wore jersey No. 98 with the Brooklyn Nets in honor of Matthew Shepard, a young man murdered in 1998 because of his sexuality, describing it as a personal statement of pride and solidarity.

Collins recently married his