Man, first Clarke, now Jason Collins?? Sad sad day for the league.

God. What a shit day.

Obviously we knew this one was coming, and he seemed very at peace with it. But you always hold on hope.

Dude was a trailblazer

Awful news day for the NBA

REST IN PRIDE, YOU’RE AN INSPIRATION TO ALL US QUEER BASKETBALL LOVERS

Rip man. Fucking terrible disease. Knew multiple people that had it. Within 1 year of diagnosis and that’s it. From 0-100 at any given moment

Y’all stay safe and tell your loved ones I love you

Fuck cancer. RIP. 

Glioblastoma is horrible, my brother-in-law has been battling it about 6 years now and it’s been a miracle he is still with us and a struggle everyday as his life is completely different. 

I remember reading this article on ESPN a few months back, really sad:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/47266076/jason-collins-stage-4-glioblastoma

A true trailblazer. Maybe his legacy and impact continue to be felt for years to come.

Was apart of one of the only fun teams in Nets history

Devastating loss

Bro STOP THE COUNT.

I don’t want to lose anymore NBA brothas today.

An incredible activist on and off the court, and as a queer/trans basketball fan I’ll always look up to him. For those who don’t know, Collins wore 98 to honor Matthew Shepard, a 21 year old gay University of Wyoming student who was murdered in 1998. He always spoke up for us. Rest in peace 98 🤍🏳️‍🌈✊🏾

Two NBA deaths by prominent players in one day is insane. RIP.

Wait the guy from the nets?? He’s the first gay NBA player right no way 

I have a Jason Collins story. I was in Vegas and my buddy scored tickets to Brittney Spears during her residency. It was me, him and our dates. We got to the door, they took us to our seats. Seats weren’t great. I clown my buddy cuz his hookup sucked and we have kinda shitty seats.

Before the show starts, someone comes to me and tells me I’m in their seats. I point to my buddy, he gets up and and they talk. Turns out, we’re in their seats but we’re also in our seats.

My buddy gets on the phone and calls his host. Someone shows up and ushers us to great seats. Like, dead center, five rows down. My buddy starts talking shit to me now.

The show starts, everyone gets up on their feet, including Jason fucking Collins and his date, who was almost as fucking tall as he is. They’re like two rows in front of us and seemed to be having a great time. They danced the whole concert right in fucking front of me. I was weaving left to right the entire night, trying to catch a glimpse of the stage lol

Gliomas are f****** brutal. I watched it devastate an 8-year-old boy while my daughter was fighting a different cancer. F*** cancer.

He only got married last year! I know they had been together for over a decade but it’s heartbreaking to get married, have a cancer diagnosis, and then die all within a year. So much love to his husband and his family

NBA 2k11 - turning it on tonight

While cancer is beyond a motherclucker, Glioblastoma is the 9th circle of hell.

While hopefully there have been some advancements, it has otherwise meant roughly 6 months and out.

John McCain was lost to this scourge and even with being tended to by the Mayo Clinic, he made it about a year

Wtf going on today

Oh my goodness 2 in a single day is absolutely awful. RIP to both of these dudes and I wish the best for their families.

I just want to share a few quotations of his that have really touched me:

On his brain cancer diagnosis,

I’m fortunate to be in a financial position to go wherever in the world I need to go to get treatment. So if what I’m doing doesn’t save me, I feel good thinking that it might help someone else who gets a diagnosis like this one day. After I came out, someone I really respect told me that my choice to live openly could help someone who I might never meet. I’ve held onto that for years. And if I can do that again now, then that matters.

On his decision to share his diagnosis publicly,

Your life is so much better when you just show up as your true self, unafraid to be your true self, in public or private. This is me. This is what I’m dealing with.

And lastly, from a 2023 interview with The Athletic on his message to the world,

Be a good teammate. Going back to team sports, the motto I always tried to live by was to be a good teammate. It all goes back to what my grandmother said: Your reputation will go places you will never go. Try to have a positive effect on people so that when you leave their presence, they’re speaking kind words about you. Know that the world has enough negativity already, so don’t add to that. Try to be as positive and to help somebody else as much as you can.

RIP Jason Collins. Not just the NBA, but all of humanity lost an amazing human being today.

what a terrible day for the NBA

Rest in peace

what a shitty day; jason collins did so much

My grandma passed in 2023 from a glioblastoma. Healthiest woman I ever knew, and one day she just couldn’t build a sandwich right and was stumbling around the kitchen and my grandpa knew something was up. She was a rare one and made it a little after a year of diagnosis, smiling and fighting the entire time. This story hits home and I hope Jason’s family finds peace in his hard he was fighting to advance knowledge of this disease. Rest easy Jason, and I love and miss you grandma.

Fuck cancer. All my homies hate cancer.

What the fuck is going on

Glioblastoma totally sucks.

Rest in peace.

Make sure you always appreciate life and the lives of those around you… you may never know when it’s the last time you’ll see someone again

Damn RIP

My goodness man what is going on today. RIP to Jason Collins and condolences to his brother and the rest of his family.

Rest in peace to a real one. Hope some day we can reach a place where players feel comfortable sharing their sexuality with the world, and Jason Collins will have helped blaze that trail for them

What an awful day. Rest in peace to both Collins and Clarke ❤️

For people who don’t know, Glioblastoma is a very aggressive form of cancer and is pretty much a death sentence. It has a 90% mortality rate within 5 years of diagnosis. RIP to Jason Collins, and I hope he wasn’t in too much pain in his final months.

Forever a Warrior. Rip

I became a nets fan when he was playing. One of my favourite net back then.

RIP big guy, the rainbow road is waiting for you.

Absolutely bursted into tears reading about this, wow. That wave of gay male athletes coming out in the early 2010s was unbelievably important too me, and I can only assume a lot of other young people like me at the time, who were different but still loved and wanted to play in sports. It is absolutely heartbreaking seeing some of them gone already. Rest in Peace, he effected more people then he ever knew. 

What a sad day to be a fan of professional basketball.

As someone who has had a brain tumor; it’s nothing short of scared to all out hell.

This sucks, because for the longest time you have no idea why your body is reacting then it’s “let’s scan your head” and boom.

I seriously take a tumor on the heart any day over the brain 🧠

RIP… we played together in high school… knew each other pretty well… one of the nicest guys… he and his brother were solid people.

RIP to a legend as a gay fan this guy meant the world to me and I wish we had more role models like him

Two players taken way too soon today.  Just an all-around awful day in the basketball world.

Oh no. I was hoping not to hear this news.

Collins was a trailblazer. RIP.

RIP. Took a lot to do it when he did.

I honestly missed that he had brain cancer.

Fucking shame. Cancer is a dickhead.

Rip Jason. Good guy who you have to respect for what he did for other LGBTQ athletes.

RIP to a trailblazer for the LBGBTQIA+ community in men’s sports

What a dark day for the NBA

Man, what is going on today? So heartbreaking

Damn, what a tragic day, rest in paradise king

It’s a sad day for sports today. May he rest in peace as well.

RIP, sad day in the league today 😔

damn this is really a sad day for the basketball world. RIP jason collins

What a terrible day for basketball

fuck today honestly

I went to college with Jason and Jarron, didn’t know them well but crossed paths a few times. Genuinely nice guy in brief interactions, hope the best for his family in this terrible time.

Rest in Pride brother.

Pioneer.

RIP, my man. you were a hero to so many

Glioblastoma killed my mom. What a hellish decay. I’m sorry for his family. fuck

My heart breaks for his husband, his brother and all his loved ones.

Collins was a crucial figure in the NBA world and the wider world of sports. The LGBTQIA+ community lost a true giant in every sense of the word and he will definitely be missed.

Let’s be comforted that he can finally rest now after a battle with a real POS cancer.

Rest in peace. You walked a tough road for the rest of us.

what jason collins did in 2013 took real courage — being the first openly gay active player in any of the four major american sports while still in the league. that’s a level of bravery most of us can’t comprehend. rip to a pioneer

What a horrible day for the league, RIP

R.I.P.

What the fuck

He was on my team for a bit. Not great or anything but he contributed and seemed like a nice guy. 47 is so young. Rip

Condolences to his family. I know it doesn’t really matter, but there is no such thing as “Stage 4” glioblastoma. They don’t stage brain tumors like that

Oh my God…

Aight bro I’m packing it in for the evening. We’ll try again tomorrow.

Wow RIP tough day for NBA folks 😔

Fuck Cancer.