NEW YORK — Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player who now serves as an ambassador for the league, is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, his family said Thursday.
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Collins, who played at Stanford from 1997 to 2001, announced he was gay in 2013, becoming the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four main North American sports leagues. He retired in 2014 after a 13-year career that included stops with the New Jersey Nets, Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston, Washington, and a return to the Nets after they relocated to Brooklyn.
His family sent a statement to the NBA on Thursday.
“Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason’s health and well-being,” the statement said.
The 7-foot Collins averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in his career. In his best season, he averaged 6.4 points and 6.1 rebounds for the then-New Jersey Nets in 2004-05.
Collins, 46, and his twin brother, Jarron, starred at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles before both attended Stanford. Jason was an All-Pac-10 selection for the 2000-2001 season when he averaged 14.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game as a senior, helping Stanford win the regular season conference title and finish 31-3.
Jarron Collins was an assistant coach with the Warriors under Steve Kerr from 2014-2021 and is entering his fifth season as an assistant coach with the New Orleans Pelicans.