NBA News Wire
Report: Nets consider signing Jason Collins
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Free-agent center Jason Collins worked out for the Brooklyn Nets this week in Los Angeles, and the Nets are strongly considering signing Collins to a 10-day contract, ESPN.com reported.
If Collins is signed, he would become the NBA’s first active openly gay player.
According to the report, the Nets are thinking about adding a big man, with Collins being a candidate. No decision has been made.
Collins, 35, has not played in an NBA game since April 17, 2013, when he was playing for the Washington Wizards. He played in 38 games that season for the Wizards and Boston Celtics, averaging 1.1 points.
Collins made a historic announcement about his sexual orientation to Sports Illustrated in April 2013, in a story that ran in the magazine’s May 6 issue.
No team has signed him since. He auditioned for the Detroit Pistons in August, but no team has invited him to training camp until now.
He could become the first openly gay athlete to play in any of North America’s four traditional major team sports.
University of Missouri defensive end Michael Sam announced he is gay this month, but he could not play in an NFL game until next fall.
Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay male athlete to play in a U.S. professional sports league when he made his Major League Soccer debut in May 2013.
