Jason Collins is the First Openly Gay Athlete in the History of NBA

In the cover story of the upcoming May issue of Sports Illustrated, NBA free agent Jason Collins publicly revealed that he is gay, becoming the first active male professional athlete in the United States to do so. According to the article, Collins worked up his courage to come out after hearing about his college roommate-turned-Massachusetts senator Joe Kennedy walking in last year's Gay Pride Parade in Boston and now, they will be marching together at this year's parade in June. Collins' disclosure was largely met by encouragements and messages of support from dozens of other athletes as well as his twin brother Jarron.