Jason Collins, NBA’s first openly gay player, announces retirement

NEW YORK (AP) — Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

He announced his retirement in a first-person story for Sports Illustrated, saying it has been “been 18 exhilarating months” since he came out as the first openly gay man in one of the four major North American professional leagues.

He started his career with the New Jersey Nets in 2001 and rejoined the franchise in Brooklyn in February. He had a number of former teammates on the Brooklyn team, including former coach Jason Kidd.

Collins thanked Kidd for his support, “considering all the speculation about problems I might face within the locker room.” Collins says he’s “happy to have helped put those canards to rest.”