Fortune just keeps shining on NBA player Jason Collins, the NBA’s first actively gay player to come out. After experiencing a career lull last year, Collins recently signed two 10-day contracts with the Brooklyn Nets to become the first openly gay player in one of America’s four major sports to play in a professional game. Now, Collins’ streak of success has continued as news reveals that the Nets have signed him for the season.
According to ESPN, sources confirmed the news on Tuesday, saying that Collins has met all of the expectations that the Nets were hoping for as an effective defender when they first signed him for a 10-day deal in February. Collins’ second 10-day contract won’t expire until after Friday, but sources confirm that Collins will reportedly sign his new season long contract this Saturday.
ESPN reports that Collins is averaging 9.8 minutes per game off the bench in eight appearances since his historic debut last month. The site also claims that the Nets have embraced Collins wholeheartedly, thanks in part to Collins history with several of his new teammates, including head coach Jason Kidd, whom he went to two NBA finals with as a part of the New Jersey Nets.
Collins has also been receiving a garagantuan amount of praise from the public for wearing No. 98 on his jersey in honor of Matthew Shepherd, who was slain in a highly publicized hate crime back in 1998.
We’re happy that Collins has been receiving so much praise and good fortune over the last month and we hope this is just the beginning of great things to come both on and off the court. Check out some other LGBT sports trailblazers below. – nicholas robinson
