First active NBA player to come out as gay dies aged 47

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Jason Collins, the first active NBA player to come out as gay, has died from cancer aged 47. Collins went public with his sexuality in a 2013 essay for Sports Illustrated, writing: “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” At the time there were no openly gay players in any of the four major US sporting leagues. Collins compared his experience with cancer to coming out: “Your life is so much better when you just show up as your true self,” he wrote last year. Collins played for six teams in a 13-year career, but his legacy will endure well beyond the court. Reminder: there are no openly gay footballers in England’s top four men’s divisions.