NBA球員正式宣佈出櫃

Jason Collins ，a National Basketball Association player has become the first active player in a major professional U.S. team sport to reveal he is homosexual.

Free-agent center Jason Collins revealed he is Gay in the cover article for this week's Sports Illustrated magazine. He wrote he did not "set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport," but he is "happy to start the conversation."

Collins said he first realized he needed to reveal his sexuality last year when his friend and roommate at Stanford University, U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy, marched in Boston's Gay Pride parade. But this month's twin bombings at the Boston Marathon finally convinced him that he "shouldn't wait for the circumstances of my coming out to be perfect."

Collins received an outpouring of support Monday from across the nation. NBA Commissioner David Stern said the league was " proud he has assumed the leadership mantle on this very important issue." President Barack Obama personally called Collins to offer his support, and White House spokesman Jay Carney called the revelation another example of the change in attitude in the U.S. towards homosexuality.
The 34-year-old Collins played the past season with the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards and has played for six NBA teams during his 12-year career.美國國家籃球協會的籃球運動員傑森•科林斯宣佈自己是同性戀，成爲第一個在美國主要的職業運動隊中公開自己性取向的現役運動員。

身爲自由球員的中鋒傑森•科林斯在本星期《體育畫報》雜誌的封面文章上透露，自己是一個同性戀者。科林斯寫道，他並不是想成爲“美國主要的職業運動隊中第一個公開的同性戀者”，但是他“非常高興將就此展開對話”。

科林斯說，去年當他在斯坦福大學的朋友和室友、美國聯邦衆議員喬.肯尼迪參加波士頓同性戀自豪遊行時，他才第一次意識到有必要公開他的性取向。但是這個月波士頓馬拉松連環爆炸案最終說服他，他“不應該等到條件完全成熟再出櫃”。

科林斯星期一得到全國各地的大力支持。美國國家籃球協會總裁大爲•斯特恩說，國家籃球協會“爲他能在這個非常重要問題上率先表態而感到驕傲”。奧巴馬總統親自打電話給科林斯表示支持。白宮發言人卡尼稱，科林斯公開他的性取向是美國改變對同性戀態度的又一事例。

現年34歲的科林斯在過去的賽季中爲波士頓凱爾特人隊和華盛頓的巫師隊效力；科林斯在他12年的職業生涯中，曾經在6支NBA球隊中打過球。