Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player who went on to become a pioneer for inclusion and an ambassador for the league, has died after an eight-month battle with an aggressive form of a brain tumor, his family announced Tuesday. He played for the Atlanta Hawks from 2009 to 2012.
Collins spent 13 years as a player in the league for six different franchises. He revealed in 2013 that he was gay, an announcement that came toward the end of his playing career.
Collins had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, which has an extremely low survival rate. He was 47.
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