Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay active player and a 13-year league veteran, died at age 47 after an eight-month battle with glioblastoma, his family announced Tuesday. Collins had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive and often terminal form of brain cancer, and publicly disclosed his condition in December 2025. He traveled to Singapore last winter for experimental treatments not authorized in the United States and was well enough in February to attend NBA All-Star Weekend events in Los Angeles and a game at Stanford University, his alma mater. However, the cancer returned, and he died peacefully at his home in Florida surrounded by family.
In a statement released through the NBA, Collins’ family said they were “heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma”. They added that “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar” and thanked the medical teams who cared for him over the past eight months. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’ “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations”. Silver noted that Collins “will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life”.
Collins made history in April 2013 when he came out as gay in a _Sports Illustrated_ first-person essay, becoming the first active male athlete in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues to do so. The announcement came near the end of his playing career and drew widespread support, including from then-President Barack Obama. A 7-foot center selected 18th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft, Collins played for six franchises: the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and Washington Wizards. He helped the Nets reach back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003 and averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds over 735 career games, with his best season coming in 2004-05 when he averaged 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds.
After retiring, Collins served as an NBA Cares Ambassador and remained a vocal advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in sports. Just one week before his death, he received the inaugural Bill Walton Global Champion Award at the Green Sports Alliance Summit. Too ill to attend, his twin brother and former NBA player Jarron Collins accepted on his behalf, calling Jason “the bravest, strongest man I’ve ever known”. Tributes poured in from across sports and advocacy. Major League Soccer player Collin Martin called Collins a trailblazer, saying “without him, I don’t know if the rest of us that came out after him, if it would have been as easy”. Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said, “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that”. Collins is survived by his husband, film producer Brunson Green, whom he married in May 2025.
