Ten years ago, Jason Collins became the first active publicly gay athlete of North America’s four major pro sports when he signed with the Brooklyn Nets in February 2014. Here is his story:

Jason Collins’ goal never was to be the center of attention or the topic of discussion. All he wanted was to play basketball. And be comfortable in his own skin.

He wasn’t trying to be the subject of an article written by Chelsea Clinton, whom he first met when the two were at Stanford. Nor was he trying to earn praise from presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, in addition to the late, great Kobe Bryant.

Collins surely wasn’t trying to land on the cover of Time when the magazine spotlighted its “100 Most Influential People in the World.”

But he did. With the help of three small sentences leading a Sports Illustrated first-person piece.

“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m Black. And I’m gay.”

Ten years ago, Collins poured 15,700-plus words into Sports Illustrated to openly announce his sexual orientation and share his story. He went on to become the first active publicly gay athlete of North America’s four major pro sports when he signed with the Brooklyn Nets in February 2014.

Since then, Collins has made an outstanding social impact. In his final seasons in the NBA, playing for the Boston Celtics (2012-13), Washington Wizards (2013) and the Nets (2014), he wore No. 98 to honor former University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in 1998 in a case that brought international attention to state and federal hate crime legislation. That jersey once was among the top sellers for NBA online purchases. Collins’ game-worn Nets jersey now resides at the Smithsonian Institution.

Collins is now 44, and his name still resonates in and outside of the NBA. The Athletic caught up with Collins, the 18th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft and a 13-year veteran, to discuss several topics, including LGBTQ+ issues; the influence of his former college roommate, United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III; his thoughts on the resistance of some to the NHL’s Pride Night jerseys; and much more.

(Note: The following conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.)

First off, how’s everything with you? What are you doing now?

Life is good. I’m in Los Angeles right now. I’m doing public speaking and some work with the NBA. I’m an NBA Cares ambassador. I really enjoy how, through basketball, we can impact people’s lives off the court and use our platform for good.

Do you consider yourself an ambassador outside of the NBA as well?

I think I’m just like any person who has any kind of public attention. Even when I was playing, I always felt like I was a role model. I know athletes go back and forth on that, but I do think that I was a role model. I remember being a younger athlete and looking up to some of my heroes, obviously understanding that they’re human and no one’s perfect. Looking up to someone like Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Magic Johnson, Hakeem Olajuwon, some of the people I idolized, if there was anything they were doing (that) I saw in a positive way, whether it was in their sport or off their sport, (I wondered,) “How can I incorporate that into my DNA, my fabric?” I wanted to take bits and pieces from my heroes.

When you saw the Sports Illustrated article published, what were your immediate thoughts and feelings? Seeing yourself on the cover, seeing your words — everything.

My immediate thought was … great photo. (Laughs) Kwaku Alston was the photographer for that, and we took a lot of different photos. … But just the public response and outpouring of support — heck, even President Obama and the White House commented on it — that was really cool.

This was 2013. What was the public reaction like following the announcement? And what’s the public reaction like now? Is there a compare/contrast going on?

I think for male athletes, it’s still (like it was). When female athletes come out, everyone is like, “OK, cool, go in.” But we’re still not there yet. We need more and more male athletes to step forward so that we can get to that day when after the game is over, everyone’s significant other is in the family room waiting for them along with everybody else’s, regardless of gender. We still have work to do with regards to male athletes.

I think if a Major League Baseball player or an NFL player tomorrow came out, it would obviously be huge news. I remember when Carl Nassib came out a couple of years ago, and that was big news, versus when Elena Delle Donne came out right before the Rio Olympics. Everyone was like, “OK, cool, go win a gold medal.” It’s great to see women continue to lead the way. When I was a kid, I was looking for role models with regards to LGBTQ+ athletes. They really weren’t on the male side; they were on the female side with Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova. … Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot out there other than Carl Nassib actively in the NFL. But I hope those athletes who are closeted can learn from Carl’s example or my example or (former soccer standout) Robbie Rogers’ example that you can still have success. Carl’s teams have made the playoffs. My teams made the playoffs. Robbie’s team won the MLS Cup. You can go on and have success and be authentic and open with the world.

The NHL has been in the news with some players and teams refusing to wear Pride Night jerseys. Have you been following that? What are your thoughts?

I have seen from afar some of the stories that have come out. I’ll say this: My grandmother was the most religious person that I’ve ever known. She’s a Black, Southern, upstate Louisiana woman … picture an old, Black woman with a Bible in one hand, three belts in the other. (Laughs) As religious as she was, it was always about love. As a disciplinarian, it was always about love. Religion should not be a cause for division, to justify any kind of inequality or to not be able to accept someone for who they are. When I came out to my grandmother — and she was the family member I was most nervous to come out to — she said, “Baby, it’s about love.” She said, “Jesus taught me to love.” It’s about bringing people together. That’s what I think religion should be about. It’s unfortunate when people aren’t that way and try to use religion as a way to divide.

From a gender rights and equality perspective, what have you seen that shows progress, and what have you seen that shows a definite need for improvement?

We touched on Carl Nassib, but Gus Kenworthy and Adam Rippon in the Olympics, watching them was huge. Again, female athletes, Sue Bird-Megan Rapinoe … you don’t get a bigger power couple than that. Also, something that’s needed are allies continuing to speak up. I think the biggest ones in the basketball world are Reggie Bullock from the Mavericks and Dwyane Wade. They’ve been huge allies. I am so grateful for their allyship and them using their platforms to speak up for the LGBTQ+ community. I even saw recently Dwyane at the Met Gala speaking on these issues, which is really cool. That gives me hope.

As far as what worries me, it’s some of these laws being passed around in state legislatures. With everything that’s going on in our world and in our communities, there seems to be a huge focus on the LGBTQ+ community. Whether it’s trans rights or “Don’t Say Gay” or no pride flags in Florida, which is crazy to me, it’s a constant reminder that regardless of the social justice issues — racial equity, women’s rights to choose, LGBTQ+ issues — there are people on the other side of that issue who are working constantly to roll back things and push us back in time. It’s a constant struggle and fight for equality. You can celebrate marriage equality but know the next day you’ve got to fight just to keep it or keep on advancing. There are some very conservative people out there who want to walk things back in time, and we cannot let that happen.

Do you feel the NBA has made legitimate strides with equality, DEI procedures, human rights, LGBTQ+ rights, etc.?

Definitely. First, I think the WNBA is leading the way. You’ve got to give the women credit and acknowledge that. Right after the WNBA is the NBA, as far as supporting our athletes and encouraging our athletes to speak up. In the (2020) bubble, we changed the names on jerseys. (It was) not only with our words but with our actions and with our money. … There’s a lot wrapped into there through the NBA Foundation, great work that’s been done, but specifically with LGBTQ+ issues, being a league to march in the (NYC) Pride parade, moving the All-Star Game out of Charlotte, N.C., because of discriminatory legislation going on at the time — and that led to the governor getting voted out of office. There are ways the NBA and WNBA continue to lead, in my opinion, all of the sports leagues.

If you were to go back in time, would you be surprised to learn very few pro male athletes have come out or followed in your footsteps?

That is surprising to me. But it also speaks to the work we need to do — because they do exist in the sports leagues. We have to continue to create that environment I saw when I did step forward. One thing that was huge for me was seeing the commissioners, David Stern and Adam Silver, with the language and the fines, I saw that they were creating an atmosphere, if I were to step forward, that I would be supported. We have to keep creating an environment and also remind people that with regards to endorsements, you won’t lose any of that. I’m still a Nike athlete to this day, 10-plus years later. Just know that there are opportunities to live your life authentically and still play your sport.

Joe Kennedy III, the former Congressman and current diplomat, was your college roommate. He was one of the reasons you chose to go public. Take me back to that story.

There’s a couple of things. The first thing was seeing him march in the Boston Pride parade as a straight man with (former Massachusetts Rep.) Barney Frank, his colleague in Congress at the time. I was so proud of him, watching him do that. When I came out to him, I asked if he was marching again. That was my first big public appearance after making the announcement: marching in the Boston Pride parade. That was incredible. That was an awesome experience to march with my college roommate.

Another thing was spending New Year’s with him and his wife and a few of their friends. There was a gay couple there celebrating New Year’s. They didn’t know I was closeted at the time, and everything was so relaxed, so chill. When you’re in the closet, sometimes you’re in constant fear: anxious, nervous, trying to hide who you are. But you see that this was relaxed, and this is normal. That was really cool.

You wore No. 98 to honor Matthew Shepard, and that jersey became a top seller. Do you ever look back and think about how that one decision became so impactful and influential?

I was just trying to hide in plain sight those last years. With the Boston Celtics, I wore that jersey. With the Washington Wizards, I wore that jersey. And with my last year with the Brooklyn Nets, I wore 98. I still get people reaching out to me on social media: “How can I find that jersey?” It was one of those things where I just wanted to connect with this identity of being an openly gay man. I was open with my family and friends then, so they all knew the true significance of that number. Coming out publicly, it was about this is who I am.

One cool thing: After the season was over, the Nets gave me my game-worn jerseys. After that season was over, a few months later, the Smithsonian reached out to me and asked if I wanted to donate any game-worn jerseys. I was like, “Sure.” I get to share that history with others, and that’s a really cool feeling to know my jerseys are with the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

What’s your message to the world as we all continue this hit-and-miss game called life?

Be a good teammate. Going back to team sports, the motto I always tried to live by was to be a good teammate. It all goes back to what my grandmother said: Your reputation will go places you will never go. Try to have a positive effect on people so that when you leave their presence, they’re speaking kind words about you. Know that the world has enough negativity already, so don’t add to that. Try to be as positive and to help somebody else as much as you can.