Celtics Speak About Jason Collins
Apr 7, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics power forward Jeff Green (8) on the court with Washington Wizards center Jason Collins (98) before the start of the game at the TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Sports history was made yesterday when NBA journeyman Jason Collins came out of the closet and announced to the world that he was gay. He became the first active player in the major four sports in the United States to do so.
He got a lot of support from all over the place. From his teammates to fellow NBA players to NFL players and players across sports, we were hearing about Jason Collins and how brave he was for doing this.
Today, a few of the Celtics decided to give their thoughts on what Collins did. Here’s what they had to say.
"Kevin Garnett on Collins: “I’m just happy for him, being able to be himself. Everyone’s personal lives is their personal livers and their personal preferences is just that. We’re here to support everything he’s doing. I’m just happy for him, that he can be himself.”KG on whether he thought he would see the day NBA player would come out: “Never really gave it much thought to be honest. People’s personal preferences have nothing to do with my own.” Jason Terry on Jason Collins coming out: “Happy for him. It looks like he’s had a tremendous weight lifted off of him. That’s all you can ask for, for any man or woman to be at peace with themselves. Then you can find that ultimate happiness. Being a teammate of his, I know how hard he works, how dedicated he was to his craft. He was a great teammate, regardless of his sexual preferences. It didn’t matter to me. I liked him as a guy, as a teammate and I still do.”Pierce tells how Collins came out to him: “I had a chance to talk to Jason before the news even broke. The crazy thing about it is that it’s something I had mentioend to Doc that it was going to happen, there was going to be a gay player in pro sports to come out. It just so happens he seems to be first and i was one of his teammates, but to each his own. It’s probably going to open the door to many more. There’s so many pro athletes and human beings that live a dark life, that’s scared to expose it, because of the exposure of sports and what people may think about it. I think he did a great thing though, to open the door for a number of athletes, who will now have the courage to come out.”Jeff Green on Collins: ”I was happy for him. He’s a great friend of mine. He’s a good teammate.”Doc Rivers on Collins: “We had talked about it recently. When he called me to tell me, you could tell he wanted to tell me. I told him before he said it, ‘Jason I could care less about what you’re about to tell me.’ And that’s how I feel. I honestly feel that way. It’s a non-factor to me, and I know it is a factor to a lot of people. I’ve never understood why anyone cares what someone else does. And I told Jason that it will be a non-issue eventually, but it will not be right no-via Celtics Hub"
Such class is always shown by the players of the Celtics organization. But the most comforting thing is that they really just regurgitated the thoughts that many others had already put out before them. The acceptance of Jason Collins won’t go without struggle, but these players giving him overwhelming support is a sign that the struggle may be very little.
That’s a huge step for mankind, if you ask me. We all have differences as people, but accepting those differences is the key to peace around the world.