Jason Collins has come out to the public announcing just a few minutes ago that he is gay. He becomes the first active player in a major professional sport to announce this. As most know, the Celtics had Collins on the roster this season before they traded him to the Wizards earlier in the year. Now, Collins is a free agent, and hopefully this will not deteriorate his value in any way.

He wrote the following for Sports Illustrated:

“Now I’m a free agent, literally and figuratively. I’ve reached that enviable state in life in which I can do pretty much what I want. And what I want is to continue to play basketball,” he wrote. “I still love the game, and I still have something to offer. My coaches and teammates recognize that. At the same time, I want to be genuine and authentic and truthful.”

It is great that he is the first major athlete to do so while still playing the game. I know there is going to be some bounce back from some players and organizations, but hopefully that is limited. It takes a lot of courage to do what Jason did. Congratulations