Jason Collins

Jason Collins is an NBA basketball player. Jason Collins is the second openly gay athlete in the United States and Canada’s main professional sports leagues. Jason, while being a well-liked athlete, only became well-known after openly coming out as gay.

Jason has played for the New Jersey Nets, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics, the Washington Wizards, and the Brooklyn Nets.

Early Years

Jason Collins was born under the sign of Sagittarius on December 2, 1978.

He was born in Los Angeles, California, to Portia and Paul Collins.

He is also Jarron Collins’ older twin brother, having been born eight minutes before him.

Jason remembers his boyhood in the Northridge area as “protected.” He also grew up surrounded by art and culture.

Jason’s brother, Jarron Collins, is also a professional basketball player.

In truth, he is a former player and assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors.

He had reportedly spent eleven years on the NBA court.

He played for the Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, and Portland Trail Blazers during his career.

Body Measurements

Jason Collins stands 6-1112 inches tall and is a strong man.

When he indicated that he wanted 7 feet, he was listed at 7 feet 0 inches (2.13 meters).

Jason’s weight is 255 pounds (116 kg). He has a rectangular-shaped face and chocolate-colored skin.

In the meanwhile, he has black hair and dark brown eyes. His hair is still fairly thin.

Jason has always been taller than his age, which is an interesting fact.

He was taller than any other kid his age, even as a third-grader.

Of course, Jon was mocked for his height, but he eventually came to appreciate it and discovered basketball.

He’d also outgrown his shoe size by the age of seventeen.

Food Preferences

Jason ate practically everything as a kid. When he was younger, he would frequently have grits and eggs with bacon, sausage, or ham for breakfast.

Similarly, sandwiches, chips, fruits, and juice were frequently served for lunch.

The lunch would conclude with chicken, greens, mac ‘n cheese, cornbread, and other items.

Returning to the present, Collins is acutely aware of his eating habits. He doesn’t allow himself to consume desserts during games.

Jason’s favorite cuisine, as he revealed, includes all Japanese foods, particularly sushi. He does, however, eat sushi two to three times per week.

Exercise Routine

Collins can burn more calories than other shorter persons because of his exceptional height.

He doesn’t take it easy on himself when it comes to working out and sticks to a strict routine.

CrossFit exercises, cardio, and treadmill running were among the areas he concentrated on. He underwent a lot of conditioning and strength training to get in shape for the game.

Furthermore, his pre-game warmup did not consist solely of jogging or basic stretching. He would actually conduct comprehensive stomach workouts.

Similarly, his routine activities included a variety of core exercises. He frequently ended his workouts with yoga.

Facts of Jason Collins

Net Worth

At present, Jason Collins depicts a net worth of $16 million, and his estimated career earnings are $34,341,007.

At the entry-level, Collins signed a four-year contract worth $5,330,184 that earned him an annual salary of $1,332,546.

Following it, his contract was worth $23,600,000 for four years, and his annual salary was $5,900,000.

For a year contract, Jason earned an average of $1,352,181 while earning $82,324 for a ten-day contract.

On the other hand, Jason portrayed a big endorsement deal with Nike. Also, he stands as the brand ambassador for the NBA Cares.

Charity

Jason has worked for numerous causes like LGBTQ support, adoption, orphans, education, children, and equality. Not to mention, he has also raised his voice for equality and civil rights.

Additionally, he has supported organizations like Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation, Point Foundation, Human Rights Campaign, Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and GLSEN.

He has been awarded Courage Award from GLSEN, LOGO TV’s inaugural Trailblazer Award, and the Making A Difference Award to honor his works.

Not to mention, his jerseys have been a top sale after he came out as a gay.

As these jerseys stood on the top-earning spot, the collected amount benefitted the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

Senior High School

Jason went to Los Angeles’ Harvard-Westlake School. Jason Segel, his twin brother, and actor, was his classmate in high school.

As a result, Jason spent four years on the high school basketball team.

During his high school years, he was also known as “Dr. Segel was his backup for “Dunk.”

Jason was also a part of two state championships for the California Interscholastic Federation. He had a career rebounding record of 1,500 at the time, which was a California record.

College

Jason attended Stanford University after graduating from high school.

He was a star for the Cardinal in the Pacific-10 Conference back then (Pac-10). Collins had 25 goals and an average of 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists as a college player.

He was first in field goal percentage (.608) and third in blocked shots by the end of his career (89).

Professional Career

Collins made NBA averages of 3.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 0.5 blocks throughout his career. For a single season, he averaged just seven points or rebounds.

Initially, Houston Rockets selected him in the 2001 NBA Draft as the 18th overall pick in the first round.

NBA Teams

With the New Jersey Nets, Collins spent seven years, and as a rookie, he played a crucial role in their first-ever NBA Finals berth in 2002.

In the 2002-03 season, he starred in the starting center role.

In 2008, Collins moved to Memphis Grizzlies for cash considerations in exchange for Stromile Swift.

However, he didn’t stay long with the Grizzlies and moved to Minnesota Timberwolves in an eight-player deal.

He signed with the Atlanta Hawks the next year and stayed with them till the 2010 offseason. Then Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy titled him “the best defense on all year during the tenure.”

Afterward, they traded him to the Boston Celtics, and a year later, he was traded to the Washington Wizards. He stood as a free agent and started his intention to join the NBA team again.

In February 2014, Jason rejoined the Nets on a ten-day contract, which was later extended for the end of the year.

Nearing the end of 2014 in November, Jason announced his retirement.

Jason Collins Comes Out as a Gay

As we all know, Collins is the first publicly gay athlete to star in any of the four major North American leagues.

Although Jason knew he was different from other boys, he only openly talked about it in 2013.

Since he was small, he held onto his secret without telling a single soul about it. Indeed, he talks about how he was always walking on a thin line with the secret.

Back in his days, he would date girls thinking it would keep things straight, and whenever the talks about girls would pop, he would dodge them.

Well, he did date girls for a while but later stopped. And when his friends asked about his girlfriend, he would say that she was in another city.

On one such event, Collins dated former WNBA center Carolyn Moos for an eight-year relationship.

Actually, they were even engaged and fixed for a wedding in 2009. However, Collins eventually called it off.

First Unsaid Move

In 2011, Jason made a small step towards his identity silently.

The 2011 NBA lockout made him revise his thoughts, and hence, marking the beginning, he chose the jersey number ’98.’

This jersey number represented the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard in 1998 for him. Most basketball athletes don’t wear a jersey number greater than 55, but Collins had chosen the number ’98.’

Hence, of course, the Celtics manager did ask for its reason. However, Collins just made up a lie for it.

Therefore, he allows states this number to be his “a statement to myself, my family, and my friends.”

Coming Out in Public

Before opening up to anyone, Jason initially cracked the news to his aunt. Indeed, her immense support gave him the courage to open up to his family and brother.

He called his agent Arn Tellem and prepared for their announcement only after it. Following it, he talked with John Amaechi, who came out as gay in 2009.

Among all the announcement ways to choose from either TV or news, he chose the first-person narrative with Sports Illustrated.

He had an interview for three hours and 45 minutes which was made into a story.

Appraisals And Supports

After his announcement went public, Collins received immense support and praise.

From his teammates to legendary players on the field, everyone tweeted to support him.

Not to mention, Collins also gained back-to-back congratulatory calls from Oprah Winfrey, then-first lady Michelle Obama, and then-President Barack Obama.

Similarly, numerous top-ranked sites wrote about his brave act to come out as gay.

The same day when Sports Illustrated posted Collins’ story, it drew 3.7 million visitors to the magazine’s website, SI.com.

Post Announcement

Indeed, it was all smiles and happiness until he wasn’t sure if he would land any contract with any team.

Also, he was a free agent then, and he intended to sign a contract.

However, not even a single team reached out to him.

In 2014, Collins rejoined Nets on a ten-day contract and then for the rest of the season.

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Boyfriend

As we all know, Jason Collins was initially in a relationship with Carolyn and had even asked her to marry him.

Later, he called their wedding off; however, they have no ‘bad blood.’

Following it, he was reported to be in a relationship with LA & Austin-based TV and film producer Brunson Green.

Still, the news was only made official in 2017, and together they attended the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Social Media

His Instagram has 6k followers and his Twitter has 92.4k followers.