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Jason Collins, NBA's first openly gay player, dies aged 47
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Jason Collins, NBA's first openly gay player, dies aged 47

BBC News · May 12, 2026, 11:58 PM · Also reported by 4 other sources

Key takeaways

  • Sareen Habeshian Getty Images Former pro-basketball player Jason Collins, the first active male athlete on a major American professional team sport to come out as gay, has died aged 47.
  • Collins died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, his family said in a statement shared by the National Basketball Association (NBA).
  • He announced last year that he had been diagnosed with the cancer and was undergoing treatment to stop the spread of the inoperable disease.

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Sareen Habeshian Getty Images Former pro-basketball player Jason Collins, the first active male athlete on a major American professional team sport to come out as gay, has died aged 47.

Collins died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, his family said in a statement shared by the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He announced last year that he had been diagnosed with the cancer and was undergoing treatment to stop the spread of the inoperable disease.

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