Jason Collins Gives Jersey To Family Of Slain Gay Student Matthew Shepard


Jason Collins of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets, the first openly gay athlete in any of North America’s four major professional sports leagues, met Thursday night with the family of Matthew Shepard in Denver, after the Nets routed the Denver Nuggets 112-89.

For Collins, the meeting was a big moment — he wore the Number 98 jersey in honor of the slain Shepard when he played with the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.

But that was before Jason Collins revealed to the public that he is gay. After three games with the Nets, Collins is wearing the number for the first time as openly gay player, making the significance of his seemingly unusual number choice clear.

Matthew Shepard was killed on October 12, 1998, in Laramie, Wyoming, when he was just 21. It was a particularly brutal murder. The killers beat and tortured him over a lengthy period of time and left him tied to a fence to die. The murder was characterized as an anti-gay hate crime.

When Collins met for about 10 minutes with Denis and Judy Shepard after Thursday’s game, he gave them a black Brooklyn Nets Number 98 jersey, though not the one he wore during the game.

“I did not want to give them a sweaty jersey, so this is a backup,” the 35-year-old Collins joked afterward.

“It was delightful. We were happy to finally have the opportunity to meet,” said Judy Shepard.

“There should be no publicity over this,” added Denis Shepard. “It should be just an ordinary everyday thing, like the military now,” he said. “That’s what we’re hoping for, soon.”

Jason Collins said he was pleased that the reason he wears the number is no longer a secret.

“Obviously, it started off my friends and family knew why I chose that number and it’s just cool to see that so many people support it as evidenced by so many people buying the jersey,” Collins said.

Collins, signed by the Nets mainly for his defensive abilities, was also happy that he scored his first points in the win over Nuggets, in which he played the final eight minutes of the game, with the Shepards in attendance.

“I got them a bucket,” a delighted Collins said.

Collins also collected four fouls in his brief playing time Thursday.

“I was happy to see him play [eight] minutes and not foul out,” quipped Nets Coach Jason Kidd.

Jason Collins is signed to the Nets on a 10-day contract, which expires next week. According to reports in the New York media, the Nets intend to extend Collins contract through the end of the current season.

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