NBA's Initial Gay Player

Jason Collins, the first NBA player who openly identified as gay, has entered into matrimony with his longtime companion, Brunson Green.

Over the weekend, Collins got hitched to the producer of The Help in a celebration that occurred in Austin, Texas. To mark the event, the basketball player, now retired, re-shared various photographs from his wedding on his Instagram Story.

Collins had been in a relationship with Green since two thousand and fourteen, not long after he declared his retirement from the NBA. Even though he has largely kept his dating life private, in a Sports Illustrated interview conducted in twenty twenty-three, he disclosed how he first encountered Green at a housewarming gathering.

'I was dating another individual at that point in time. I didn't cross paths with Brunson again until we bumped into each other at a social gathering three months subsequent. At that juncture, I was once again single,' he divulged to the publication then. 'Brunson departed for Europe the following day, and, while he was abroad, I inquired of everyone I knew in Los Angeles, ‘Have you knowledge of this man?''

The pair reportedly got engaged during two thousand and twenty-three at the Los Angeles Lakers Pride Night.

Collins initially came out in a personal essay, penned for Sports Illustrated in two thousand and thirteen. The essay at that time made him the foremost openly gay athlete participating in a principal American team sport.

'When I was younger, I dated women,' he wrote at that time. 'I even became betrothed. I believed I had to exist in a specific way. I presumed I needed to marry a woman and raise children alongside her. I persisted in convincing myself the sky was red, but I was always aware it was blue.'

Collins commenced his professional journey with the New Jersey Nets in two thousand and one and rejoined the now Brooklyn-situated franchise, the Brooklyn Nets, in two thousand and fourteen, following stints with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Atlanta Hawks, the Boston Celtics, and the Washington Wizards.

Subsequent to his season with the Brooklyn Nets, he declared his retirement in an essay composed for The Players' Tribune. 'I am officially announcing my withdrawal from the NBA,' he stated.

'As we speak, I&39;m viewing a college basketball contest, but it's about time for me to genuinely transform into simply a fan and watch from the sidelines.'

He continued: 'My physique was communicating with me, my body was informing me that it was time. I think as older generations are able to comprehend that when you awaken in the morning and it feels akin to jumpstarting an antiquated vehicle.

'My lumbar region, my knees, it was one of those circumstances that my body was conveying to me as it does with numerous other professional athletes.'