Jason Collins recently passed away at the age of 47 from brain cancer. Kirby Lee / Imagn Images
In the wake of Jason Collins’ death earlier this week, Charles Barkley lamented how little he thinks societal acceptance has changed since Collins came out as the first openly gay player in the NBA more than a decade ago.
Speaking on “Inside the NBA” on Wednesday night, a day after Collins died at 47 after a battle with Stage 4 glioblastoma, the NBA Hall of Famer said that America still has ways to go in accepting athletes of all sexualities.
Collins was the first active male athlete in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues to be openly gay.
“If another guy did it, it would still be a big deal,” Barkley said, “because we live in a homophobic society, and that’s unfortunate.”
