Jason Collins became a household name after coming out as gay while still active in the NBA and the former Boston Celtics star gave his first television interview after the Sports Illustrated cover story was released to "Good Morning America".
According to the Huffington Post, Collins sat down with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning America" and spoke about his decision and why he felt it was time for him to come out as the first openly gay man in team sports in America. Collins said he never wanted to be the first one, but after so much time he realized that no one else was stepping up.
Collins received support from many in the NBA as well as names like Russell Simmons and Bill Clinton, but others, like Mike Wallace and Alphonso Smith showed their ignorance in tweets about it. Collins played with the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics this season before becoming a free agent and now he needs a new job.
"I never set out to be the first," Collins told Stephanopoulos during an interview that first aired during "Good Morning America" on Tuesday. "You're sort of waiting around for somebody else to, you know, raise their hand. I'm ready to raise my hand but, you know, you still look around like, 'OK, come on, guys.'"