{"id":257,"date":"2026-05-13T19:35:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257"},"modified":"2026-05-13T19:35:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T19:35:54","slug":"looking-back-with-appreciation-on-the-incredible-life-of-nba-trailblazer-jason-collins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257","title":{"rendered":"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>Every day seems to serve up harsh and painful reminders that the good ol\u2019 days are just decaying memories, that your childhood heroes are indeed mortal and will perish, and that even your peers aren\u2019t promised long lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=255\">Senate confirms Trump pick Warsh as chairman of the Federal Reserve, following Powell<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>A few hours Tuesday after the shocking death of NBA forward Brandon Clarke, which is being investigated as a possible drug overdose, the league announced the death of Jason Collins, a former NBA center who was battling brain cancer. He was 47 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That may not sound very young, but it is when you remember 17-year-old Jason playing high school basketball along with his twin brother, Jarron, in Southern California in the mid-1990s \u2014 literal twin towers swatting away shots and dunking on overwhelmed opponents for Harvard-Westlake School.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>My journey with the twins took me to Arco Arena in Sacramento, where they teamed to win the California Division 3 state championship over Sacramento Grant, and as much as I tried to nudge them to consider my alma mater, Cal, as a college destination, they decided on Stanford.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Both reached the NBA, Jason as a physical center who played in two Finals with the Nets, Jarron as a versatile forward mostly with the Jazz. Toward the end of his career, Jason landed with the Celtics, by then a backup whose best skills were screening and laying hard fouls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A few weeks after the 2012-13 season, months after he was traded by the Celtics to the Wizards, Jason went public about his sexuality in a Sports Illustrated article, becoming the first active NBA player to be openly gay. It was a landmark decision, one that influenced several athletes who followed him, sending a message that world-class athletes can be gay, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And for the final 12 years of his life, Jason became a symbol of independence and bravery. He continued to play in the NBA after his announcement, with no incident or judgment. He was highly respected among his peers, a gentleman of the game whose crusade for acceptance became the mark of his courage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That courage was tested even further when he announced last year that he was diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor. In December, he penned a moving article discussing his struggles with cancer. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At All-Star Weekend this past February in Los Angeles, I learned that Jason would be participating in an NBA Cares event just 10 minutes from my childhood home in South Los Angeles. My 80-year-old stepfather and 78-year-old mother offered to drop me off at the Weingart YMCA, where the great Oscar Robertson, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and Dominque Wilkins were present, along with dozens of kids. There I sought out Jason.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=253\">FDA chief\u2019s resignation widens a leadership gap at the nation\u2019s health department<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>He was kind enough to give me some of his time. We discussed the old days. It had been 30 years since that state championship game. Jason had transformed from a 7-footer teenager with limitless potential to a 47-year-old man in the battle of his life. Still, despite his condition, dabbing sweat from his brow, he made time for the kids.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The kids were his focus. He was reluctant to discuss his condition, complain about his plight, or laud himself for even participating with his declining health. Jason wanted to talk about the new basketball court for the younger generation of kids, how helping out and serving as a role model not only for the LGBT community but for other communities was therapeutic, and how it gave his life true purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And that final decade of Jason\u2019s life was filled with fulfilling that purpose, living in his own skin, reaching the point where his sexuality became an afterthought. He shifted his focus to ensuring that glioblastoma patients in America could receive the best treatment, but he was relegated to traveling to Singapore for medication because it wasn\u2019t approved by the FDA.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt was so frustrating, once I realized where my situation was and you have to do this particular standard of care before you do anything else,\u201d he told me. \u201cIt made me upset, so when people are like, \u2018OK, I have a brain tumor, what can I do?\u2019 Unfortunately, you have to do chemotherapy, radiation, and then a shot of Avastin. But there are other options.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSo I want people to know that I\u2019ve gone to Singapore because Singapore gave me full access within 48 hours. The FDA is very strict, and it would have been weeks had we had tried to wait. I don\u2019t have weeks. Because of what we\u2019ve done in Singapore, I put more time on my clock.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s kind of funny how all things relate back to sports.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He smiled. Jason knew his time was limited, but the battle continued. Jason\u2019s was a life well-lived. He broke barriers. He galvanized communities. He fought with humility and grace. In many ways, he carried the same characteristics of that 17-year-old from three decades ago. But instead of merely an NBA player, Jason evolved into a pioneer, a leader, a hero.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s kind of weird,\u201d he said of the attention. \u201cBut it obviously makes me feel good that I\u2019ve lived a life that has had a positive impact on other people. So I think that\u2019s a goal for every professional athlete, is to have a positive impact on someone else. It\u2019s about legacy. So, yeah, that\u2019s all I can say.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=251\">In a surprise, GOP-endorsed candidate for lieutenant governor says she didn\u2019t collect enough signatures to make ballot<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the final 12 years of his life, he became a symbol of independence and bravery. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":256,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins - Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the final 12 years of his life, he became a symbol of independence and bravery.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Boston Relocation Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T19:35:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"headline\":\"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T19:35:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257\"},\"wordCount\":981,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ced0b357142678f4f3c48fe151b0f73f.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257\",\"name\":\"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins - Boston Relocation Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ced0b357142678f4f3c48fe151b0f73f.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T19:35:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ced0b357142678f4f3c48fe151b0f73f.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ced0b357142678f4f3c48fe151b0f73f.avif\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":961},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?p=257#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Boston Relocation Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins - Boston Relocation Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins - Boston Relocation Insider","og_description":"For the final 12 years of his life, he became a symbol of independence and bravery.","og_url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257","og_site_name":"Boston Relocation Insider","article_published_time":"2026-05-13T19:35:54+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"headline":"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins","datePublished":"2026-05-13T19:35:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257"},"wordCount":981,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ced0b357142678f4f3c48fe151b0f73f.avif","articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257","name":"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins - Boston Relocation Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ced0b357142678f4f3c48fe151b0f73f.avif","datePublished":"2026-05-13T19:35:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ced0b357142678f4f3c48fe151b0f73f.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ced0b357142678f4f3c48fe151b0f73f.avif","width":1440,"height":961},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=257#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Looking back with appreciation on the incredible life of NBA trailblazer Jason Collins"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/","name":"Boston Relocation Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c08a982d5d5e7124cea9158df226037e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}