NBA’s first openly gay player marries longtime partner
John Collins tied the knot with Hollywood producer Brunson Green last month
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Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player, married his partner of more than a decade in an outdoor ceremony last month.
Collins, who came out in an essay written for Sports Illustrated in 2013, tied the knot with Hollywood producer Brunson Green over Memorial Day weekend in a ceremony in Austin, Tex.
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“When I was younger, I dated women,” Collins wrote in the essay. “I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.”
Collins, a 13-year NBA veteran who retired in 2014, and Green, best known for his work on The Help, had been together since 2014.
According to reports, the couple got engaged in 2023 during Pride Night at a Los Angeles Lakers game.
In a Sports Illustrated interview in 2023, Collins described how he and Green met.
“I was dating another guy at the time. I didn’t see Brunson again until we ran into each other at a party three months later. By that point, I was single again,” Collins told the outlet. “Brunson left for Europe the following day and, while he was overseas, I asked everyone I knew in L.A., ‘Have you heard of this guy?’”
According to reports, the wedding ceremony was a star-studded affair with many of Collins’ former teammates, including Richard Jefferson, in attendance along with some Hollywood stars and, of course close family and friends of the couple.
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Octavia Spencer, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role in The Help, posted a picture on Instagram from the day featuring Collins and Green walking down the aisle.
Fellow actress Viola Davis commented on the post, writing “Aaaaahh!!!! Congratulations.”
Collins spent the majority of his NBA career with the New Jersey Nets, while also suiting up for the Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards.
The power forward averaged 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per game over his 735 NBA contests.
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