NBA groundbreaker Jason Collins on coming out, Atlanta, life after basketball
One February night earlier this year, Jason Collins played a quiet 11 minutes at center for the Brooklyn Nets and made history, becoming the NBA’s first openly gay player. Collins, who played three seasons for the Atlanta Hawks, returns to town tonight to take part in a CNN Dialogues event on “Athletes & Social Responsibility” at the Center for Civil and Human Rights.
Collins joins the GA Voice to talk about tonight’s event, returning to Atlanta as an out gay man, and retirement rumors.
Jason, can you talk a little bit about why events like tonight’s are so important?
Athletes’ support has such a big effect on peoples’ lives. You root for your heroes. I remember when I was a kid and aspired to be a professional athlete and looked up to certain athletes. I was such a fan of Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Martina Navratilova for a variety of reasons. I admired athletes growing up but was more proud when they spoke up and spoke out on social issues like Martina Navratilova has over her entire career. Then you look at someone like Magic Johnson. Once his career ended he continued to give back to society and obviously became a successful business man.
Collins came out in this May 2013 Sports Illustrated cover story.
What’s the downside if athletes don’t live up to that social responsibility?
Well, we first have to recognize that athletes are humans and no one’s perfect. You hope that athletes accept the role they have, that responsibility. They make mistakes and are imperfect but as long as you are going out there with good intentions and trying to have some responsibility and taking that role you have in the context of social responsibility and trying to have a positive effect on someone else’s life, that can be very powerful.
You came out last May and there was that initial whirlwind, followed by a lull as the wait started for a team to sign you, then the signing happened in February and that ratcheted things up again. How would you describe your life now?
My life is exponentially better. In my private life things are very good. I’m trying to make as much time as I can with my friends and family but I do travel around a lot. I’m going around and meeting a lot of great people and having great conversations with some special people, whether it’s a charity, an organization, a foundation. I’ve just had moments over the past year-and-a-half that have been very surreal.
What’s it like being back in Atlanta?
It’s nice! I enjoy my time here. It’s kind of funny, when I drove in I was passing Piedmont Park and other parts of the city and it was bringing back memories of living here. I really enjoyed my time here in Atlanta.
Is it a different experience being back, now that you’re out of the closet and can freely go wherever you want to with whomever you want?
Regardless of the city, I don’t have that fear, that stress of, ‘Will today be the day that someone figures it out?’ Because I was the one who outed myself. I came out on my own terms and I was emotionally ready to make that announcement to the world. I reached a point in my life where I told my family and friends, so I had the love and support of so many people in my private life that I was ready to control my own truth, my own story.
What kinds of things would you have liked to have done when you lived here if you were out then?
My time here with the Hawks I lived downtown for one year and in midtown for two years. I would run around Piedmont Park but would never go out to the LGBT bars or anything, nothing along those lines. Now, if I wanted to I could obviously [laughs]. But Atlanta has so many restaurants. I’m more of a foodie anyways. There’s a couple of restaurants that have opened up that I want to try, like The Optimist.
What ‘s the latest on the retirement rumors?
I go back and forth each day. I’m 35 years old, I just finished my thirteenth year. I’m waiting until mid-September to make a full decision along those lines. In the meantime, I still work out and train but at the same time it’s for my health. I don’t want to be that player who comes in and people can’t recognize him [laughs].
What do you want to do after you retire?
I’m doing a lot of these speaking engagements. I really enjoy discussing these issues. Having that conversation I talked about way back when in the Sports Illustrated article and you touched upon it earlier, having that conversation with as many people as possibly so we can continue to break down misconceptions and prejudices and break down these stereotypes that are out there.
You talk about a lot of different issues besides LGBT rights. How seriously would you consider a life in politics?
Right now I’m watching my old college roommate [U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy] be the politician. He’s doing a great job with his constituents. I just did an event with him a couple of weeks ago. I’ll be going back to Washington, D.C. in mid-September for the President’s Council on Fitness, Health and Nutrition. We have our big meeting then. I do travel to Washington, D.C. every now and then but it’s nice to be a visitor and a spectator at this point.
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