Jason Collins Is the 1st Openly Gay NBA Player and Was Engaged to a Woman — Inside His Story

Former NBA player Jason Collins became the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. He even got support from many people, including the POTUS.

On April 29, 2013, Jason Collins wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated that went viral. He got everyone's attention with the first paragraph, "I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay."

He explained that he began thinking about coming out in 2011 during the NBA player lockout as the delay in the regular season forced him to confront who he really was.

Jason Collins' Coming-Out Story

Collins confessed the first person that he came out to was his aunt, a superior court judge in San Francisco named Teri. He was surprised when she told him she'd known he was gay "for years."

Fortunately, it was what he needed to become comfortable in his own skin, especially because he always knew he was gay but didn't want to accept it.

Growing up, Collins thought he needed to live his life according to what society considers "normal": he needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. That's why he even got engaged to Carolyn Moos. More on their relationship later.

Collins pointed out that keeping such a big secret takes a lot of energy, adding that he endured years of misery and went to "enormous lengths" to live a lie.

Shortly after the Sports Illustrated piece was released, Collins got support from many people, including Oprah Winfrey and former President of the United States Barack Obama.

Other players and NBA legends like Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Magic Johnson, and Dwyane Wade took to social media to prove how proud they were of Collins.

Jason Collins' Fiancée

Coming back to former WNBA center Carolyn Moos, she was as shocked – or even more so – as the rest of the world at Collins being gay. About two months after Collins' revelation, Moos shared her side of the story.

The former couple met at Stanford University in the fall of 1997. On Moos' first day of her freshman year, she went out for a run and saw Collins and his twin brother, Jarron.

”I wish he could have been honest with me years ago.”

As a 6 feet 5 woman, she was thrilled to meet people taller than her, so she stopped and introduced herself. She was immediately attracted to Collins but was too shy, so she left after having a brief conversation.

Moos and the Collins brothers became friends as they were all basketball players, but nothing romantic happened until after she graduated in 2001. The former couple met up after one of his games and began a long-distance relationship.

He popped the question in Mexico in 2008. They moved together to Los Angeles and began planning their wedding, but he called everything off only one month before tying the knot.

At the time, she didn’t know why, especially because they had planned to have children and build a family together. She learned he was gay on the phone the same day his essay was released. Moos added:

“I empathize with Jason and support him. But at the same time, I remain deeply hurt by him. I wish he could have been honest with me years ago.”

He Wasn't Ready

Talking to Oprah Winfrey, Collins confessed he had not achieved self-acceptance during his relationship with Moos. Still, he knew he couldn’t marry her because it would ruin their lives.

The former NBA player also said he wished he would have been completely honest with Moos about his sexuality at that time, but he was still wrestling with his truth.

Now, Collins accepts himself. In January 2014, "The Help" producer Brunson Green was confirmed as Collins' boyfriend. They kept their relationship away from the spotlight, though.

Collins announced in March 2020 that he and his partner tested positive for COVID-19, but they soon recovered.

Sadly, the man in question died on May 12, 2026, at his Los Angeles home after a long battle with a disease that had threatened to take him far sooner than it did. He was surrounded by family, especially the love of his life.

And while his death sent shockwaves through the sports world and far beyond it, the posts he shared in his final months show the kind of man he was in a way that's larger than words.

His family confirmed the passing through a statement released by the NBA, noting that he impacted lives in surprising ways and served as an inspiration to both his personal acquaintances and his many distant admirers.