Focus on helping Nets win
LOS ANGELES Jason Collins slipped through the thin black curtain, glanced around the packed Staples Center interview room and took his seat. He was an hour away from suiting up for the Brooklyn Nets, making him the first openly gay athlete to play for a major sports franchise.
But his thoughts weren’t on Sunday’s game, which the Nets won 108-102 against the Los Angeles Lakers, with Collins recording two rebounds and five fouls in 11 minutes.
“Right now I’m focused on trying to learn the plays, trying to learn the coverages of the gameplan assignment,” Collins said. “I don’t have time to really think about history right now. I just have time to focus on my job tonight.”
A 35-year-old center and 12year NBA veteran, Collins woke up Sunday morning to missed calls from his agent and text messages from Nets coach Jason Kidd saying the team wanted to sign him to a 10-day contract. By the afternoon he had signed the deal and had the mandatory physical, putting him on an NBA roster for the first time since he came out in a Sports Illustrated article in May.
Players on 10-day contracts typically don’t conduct pregame news conferences before dozens of media members. While Collins acknowledged being a little blown away by the attention, he reiterated he was with the Nets to help the team win, not to be a crusader for the gay rights movement.
“I need to be a solid basketball player,” he said. “It’s about focusing on the task at hand and not thinking about history or anything along those lines. It’s about going out there and making it difficult for the Lakers.”
Collins wore a Nets T-shirt with the No. 98 written into the NBA logo. He said he expected to wear the number on his jersey when Brooklyn played Wednesday at the Portland Trail Blazers because of the significance it had for the gay community. But his main focus was on getting back in the swing of being an NBA player. He wore No. 46 vs. the Lakers.
“I’ve played for 12 years in the league, so I know how to play basketball,” he said. “It’s obviously just getting timing back (for the) NBA game. I’m ready. Let’s do it.”