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Kobe Bryant said most people overlooked "the domino effect" of Jason Collins' coming out
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- Kobe Bryant said most people overlooked "the domino effect" of Jason Collins' coming out
On the hardwood, Kobe Bryant was always one step ahead. He read plays before they developed. He anticipated rotations before they formed. Saw angles others didn't even know existed. That instinct wasn't limited to the game, though.
Off the court, Bryant had a similar ability. In 2013, when NBA veteran Jason Collins became the first active male athlete in a major American professional sport to come out as gay, he showed as much.
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Most people recognized it as a significant moment. Bryant saw something even bigger.
The NBA stood behind Collins
Collins published his first-person essay in Sports Illustrated on April 29, 2013. He announced he was gay. The reaction was immediate and overwhelming.
LeBron James called him noble and strong. Jason Kidd, a former teammate, said the announcement would make the world a better place. Kenneth Faried was among the most enthusiastic, Kevin Garnett said he was glad Collins could finally be himself, and Kenyon Martin said it took a brave man to do what the 7-foot big man had done.
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The response went well beyond the league. President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton added their voices too.
Collins himself said the following morning that the support had been "incredible."
It showed the association was finally ready for an openly gay basketball player. But Bryant looked past that entirely. The Los Angeles Lakers star sent a supportive tweet that instantly went viral. However, what he said in the months that followed truly made it clear.
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Bryant and the bigger picture
Collins eventually returned to the NBA. He did so after signing a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets . Before his first game with the team, Bryant spoke on the subject at Staples Center.
"His impact is greater than what people think," the 2008 MVP remarked . "You look at it in the context of having the first openly gay player. But people missed the domino effect that had way beyond sports."
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To make his point, Bryant talked about kids who felt they had to hide who they were. The fear that came with that. The depression. The peer pressure pushed some of them toward self-destruction. For too long, nobody in a position like Collins had stood up for them. Not anymore, though. Bryant said his fellow NBA player had changed that
"There is a kid out there," he said, "who is going to say, 'Jason gave me strength in dark moments to be brave. He gave me courage to step up and accept myself for who I am, despite what others might be saying or the public pressures.'"
Part of why Bryant's words hit so hard was one particular story. Back in April 2011, during a game against the San Antonio Spurs , he had directed an anti-gay slur at a referee. David Stern fined the future Hall of Famer $100,000 the next day, stating, " Such a distasteful term should never be tolerated ."
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How much Bryant's stance had changed was clear. Not just in the immediate aftermath of that incident, but in how he spoke about what Collins' coming out actually meant.
Jason showed that significance himself. In the years after his announcement, he served as an NBA Cares ambassador. Collins was carrying forward the work of inclusion he had started.
Then, in May 2026, the California native was gone.
The NBA announced Collins had died after a battle with glioblastoma.
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Commissioner Adam Silver said his impact stretched far beyond the game of basketball. Uncannily, it was almost exactly what Bryant had seen a decade earlier, back when most people were still only looking at the surface.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jul 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
