35+ of the World’s Most Popular LGBT Stars and Athletes

It’s safe to say that Jason Collins’ time in the NBA was far from memorable. A member of the New Jersey Nets, he was drafted 18^th overall in 2001 and played primarily in supporting roles for the team. After bouncing around the league and playing for more than half a dozen teams, he hung up his jersey in 2014 as a Brooklyn Nets player.

Collins made history by becoming the first openly gay athlete to play in the NBA or any other US major league sport after coming out of the closet in 2013. Even more impressively, he made the cover of Time and was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people.