Jason Collins Comes Home For Debut In Brooklyn
Jason Collins, the first openly gay professional athlete in major North American sports, is finally going to play in front of the Nets home crowd on Monday night in Brooklyn against the Chicago Bulls.
Collins has played in four games for the Nets since signing a 10-day contract with Brooklyn on February 23rd, but the team was on the road during this period. There has obviously been a tremendous amount of focus on Collins during the road trip, but the reserve center has been received well, most recently in Milwaukee on Saturday night. Collins has tried to take the attention in stride. “It’s crazy, it’s just crazy,” Collins said after the Nets 107-98 victory over the Bucks in Milwaukee. “It is what it is.”
From all accounts, Collins has been treated favorably by opposing fans, and will now have the opportunity to play in Brooklyn. There is no reason to suspect the reception will be anything but cordial for Collins, a sentiment Nets coach Jason Kidd confirmed:
“As I’ve always said, I’m not worried about the reaction. I think they will support a Net. He’s been a Net before, and I think they’ll be excited to have him, but the big thing is him being able to help us defensively, and being the good character person that he is.”
Collins is nearing the end of his 10-day contract with the Nets, but it appears that the team will very likely sign him for the remainder of the season. As a reserve that plays sparingly, Collins’s contributions on the court have been marginal, but his impact goes beyond mere statistics. Collins has enjoyed his role as mentor to some of the younger Nets players, providing a veteran presence for the team:
“It’s important as a veteran to share what knowledge I have with the younger guys. When I was a young guy, I learned from Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning. It’s a cycle. Now that I am that old man at the end of the bench, that veteran, even though I might not be playing minutes, there still are ways that I can definitely help the team win.”
Collins influence has been felt beyond basketball as well. Collins wears a No. 98 jersey in honor of the late Matthew Shepard, a homosexual man who was brutally murdered in 1998. Collins recently presented his Nets jersey to the family of Shepard.
Collins continues to provide inspiration to countless individuals and should be embraced by the home crowd in Brooklyn.
