Sometimes the hardest news comes at the end of the day.
Late afternoon on May 12, NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that former NBA player and LGBTQ advocate Jason Collins had died. The 47-year-old had been battling stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive and often terminal form of brain cancer, for eight months.
In December, Collins opened up about his treatment and the support he received from his husband, Brunson Green and his family on Instagram.
Collins made history when he came out in 2013, becoming the first active player in the NBA – and in any of the four major men’s professional sports leagues in the US – to come out as gay.
Since his death, tributes have poured in from league executives, activists and athletes across professional sports.
