WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Jason Collins said yesterday he would rather be remembered as a good teammate than as the first openly gay player in the four major American sports.
Collins, an aggressive, seven-foot center who played for six teams during a 13-year National Basketball Association career, announced his retirement on Wednesday at the age of 35. “I would like my legacy to be that Jason Collins was a good teammate,” he told Reuters in a telephone interview. “He would sacrifice for the team, someone who, on the defensive end, would go out there and give the hard foul.
“I want people to remember that if an opponent went into the paint, Jason Collins was there and there was going to be some contact.”
Collins, however, will best be known for admitting he was gay while still playing, something that had not been previously done in the NBA, NHL, NFL or Major League Baseball.
