Quotes from Jason Collins

As a professional athlete, I've been booed by 18,000 people.

Hopefully my actions will make it easier for them to live their life, to be whoever they want to be.

Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?

As a teammate, you want the best of everyone on your team. It's about mentally being able to be all in. Why not create an environment that fosters that?

I love puzzles, challenges, the feeling that you get when you have an obstacle and go through adversity, finding the strength to go on.

I've reached that enviable state in life in which I can do pretty much what I want.

I have had a moment where, well actually a couple moments, where people in the realm of sports have confided in me.

So, my role on an NBA basketball team was the defensive stopper, was to be the most physical player on the team. I love that role. I love contact. I love hitting.

If you were to ask Tony Dungy if he feels like homophobia is in his level of thinking or if he's homophobic, he'd say no. Well, if you were to ask Donald Sterling if he sees how his comments are racist, he said no, too. Some people don't recognize their own racism, homophobia.

I want to be able to go on a date, hang with all of my friends, and not be outed on someone else's terms by some reporter.

I do identify myself as a black man before I identify myself as a gay man.

I've been booed before. There have been times when I've wanted to boo myself. But a lot of ill feelings can be cured by winning.

I've met many people who have come up to me and told me how my story has impacted them.

It's always a terrible feeling knowing that you're about to go home from the NCAA Tournament.

Injuries are part of the game; you've got to play through them.

The fact is, people in some communities have been conditioned to instantly feel safe when they see a police car. Others see one and instantly feel anxiety.

I'm still learning new things every single day.

My parents worked for Travelers Insurance.

Obviously, I do a great job of running on the treadmill but there is no way of simulating it, the NBA is much different than running sprints on a treadmill.

You can knock me all you want, but professional basketball players are an elite group and I've been doing it 12 years.

When I was playing with the Brooklyn Nets, we still called people soft, but we never equated it with being gay. It shows people are capable of changing language and culture.

My role is to be ready. I never know what night my name and number is going to be called, but my job is to go out there, be physical, play solid defense, and contribute on the offensive end whenever possible.

You know, I mentor a few younger athletes.

Of course, life is not a Disney movie. Life is messy. There were some people in my family who made gay jokes and used inappropriate language while I was growing up. Coming out to some people was more challenging than others, but in the end, I was amazed by how much my sexuality didn't matter.