Jason Collins, the pioneering former NBA athlete who became the first openly gay male player in major American professional sports, has publicly disclosed a devastating health diagnosis. The 47-year-old basketball veteran revealed in a personal essay published by ESPN that he is battling an aggressive stage four glioblastoma—an inoperable brain cancer with tentacle-like projections spreading across his brain.
The California native described the tumor as ‘a monster with tentacles spreading across the underside of my brain the width of a baseball.’ Medical professionals informed Collins that without immediate treatment, his condition would prove fatal within three months.
Collins’ cancer journey began with concerning cognitive symptoms shortly after his marriage to his husband in May. The athlete experienced significant difficulties with focus and memory, culminating in an incident where he missed a flight due to an inability to pack his luggage. Subsequent medical scans identified the malignant brain tumor as the source of these neurological challenges.
Drawing parallels between his athletic career and current health battle, Collins wrote: ‘As an athlete you learn not to panic in moments like this.’ He compared confronting his diagnosis to facing basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal during his prime, emphasizing his determination to meet this ultimate challenge head-on.
Collins is currently undergoing treatment with Avastin to slow the tumor’s progression and has been traveling to Singapore for specialized chemotherapy. Despite the grim prognosis, the retired athlete maintains remarkable perspective, noting that his years living openly as a gay man since his 2013 announcement have been ‘the best of my life.’
The sports icon, who played for six NBA teams across 13 seasons before retiring in 2014, hopes his transparency about his cancer journey will advance treatment research and provide inspiration to others facing similar battles—much as his decision to come out potentially helped countless individuals he would never meet.