NBA Auctions Signed Collins Jerseys

The NBA just emailed to tip me that they have launched an auction for autographed Jason Collin jerseys. Sales will benefit the Matthew Shepard Foundation and GLSEN.

Each jersey is authenticated by the NBA and MeiGray Game-Worn Authentication Program. MeiGray Group, the official game-worn partner of the NBA, offers collectors the highest standards of authenticity, integrity, and reliability for all game-used items. Collins became the first openly gay, active male athlete from one of the four major North American professional team sports on Feb. 23, after signing with his original team, the Nets. Since he was added to the roster, Collins’ jersey spent three weeks in the No. 1 spot on the top-selling jersey list at NBAStore.com. Collins wears the number “98” in honor of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was murdered in 1998 after being targeted for being openly gay. The NBA has a long history of supporting the LGBT community including partnerships with GLSEN, GLAAD and Athlete Ally and was the recipient of the 2012 Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion Award at the GLSEN Respect Awards. In addition, Jason Collins received the 2013 Courage Award at the 10th annual GLSEN Respect Awards and Denver Nuggets star Kenneth Faried was awarded the 2012 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, in part because of his relationship with Athlete Ally.

Bidding has opened at $250 for each jersey.

BROOKLYN: Cater-Waiter Sues Houston Rockets Over Homophobic Taunting

A New York City man is suing the NBA franchise Houston Rockets and a local catering company, claiming that he was suspended without pay in retaliation for complaining that Rockets players had taunted him with homophobic slurs while he set up a buffet in the visiting team locker room at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. The incident happened early last year, prior to the signing of Jason Collins by the Brooklyn Nets.

Via the New York Daily News:

“Get this faggot out of here!” and “He’s trying to catch a sneaky peeky!” are two comments hurled at him and accompanied by laughter, according to the suit filed Tuesday in Brooklyn Federal Court. “It was loud and gregarious and there were overlapping voices,” Tate’s lawyer Marjorie Masidor told the Daily News. A representative of the Brooklyn Nets allegedly witnessed the Feb. 22, 2013, incident and told Tate to leave the locker room and that he would “take care of it,” according to the suit. Tate was working for the Levy Restaurant catering department, which was providing food service for the visiting team, referees and the Nets' dancers' locker rooms. Among the players on the Rockets roster for the game were James Harden, Carlos Delfino and former Knick sensation Jeremy Lin. The lawyer would not say whether Tate could identify which jerks made the ugly comments.

The lawsuit notes that the Brooklyn Nets responded properly when the complaint was first lodged.

According to the suit, Tate reported the incident to Levy’s catering manager, a Local 100 union representative, and received an apology from the Nets’ vice president of human resources. Tate was also told that the Brookyn Nets players had attended a class on “tolerance and sensitivity training” in response to the Rockets' alleged behavior. But Tate was the one who was benched. He said he was barred from working in dressing rooms, locker rooms and private VIP areas which are lucrative assignments because of the overtime pay. He was suspended without pay in January for failing to follow instructions, such as maintaining a dirty chef table and retrieving a fork for a customer. Tate claims the accusations were retaliation for his sex harassment complaint.

The Brooklyn Nets and the Barclays Center are not named in the suit. The suit seeks unspecified damages from the Houston Rockets and the catering company, neither of whom have yet issued reactions.

Brooklyn Nets Clinch Playoff Berth

Last night the Brooklyn Nets clinched a berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs with their 14th consecutive home win at Barclays Center, setting the stage for Jason Collins to add a another item to his list of first-ever accomplishments when he enters a playoff game with his Matthew Shepard-honoring jersey. Most of the hubbub about the NBA's first openly gay player died down within a week or so of Collins returning to the game in February, but a couple of sportswriters have pleasantly joked this week that Collins has been a good luck charm in light of the team's surprising comeback. The playoffs begin on April 19th.

Headline Of The Day

Nobody is claiming that Jason Collins is responsible, but neither can anybody say that the NBA's first openly gay player is jinxing the team as the Brooklyn Nets have been on a wild winning streak ever since Collins was signed. In fact, the previously languishing Nets are now very close to clinching a spot in the playoffs.

The Brooklyn Nets are thisclose to clinching a playoff berth, and when they do, they’ll go into the postseason as a very dangerous team. Yep, the team that started 10-21 and lost its starting center for the season has established a home-court advantage that is daunting, a style of play that is vexing and a level of confidence that is surging. The Nets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-99 Sunday night in Barclays Center to tie a franchise record with 13 straight home wins. Had the Knicks lost to the Warriors in Oakland last night, Brooklyn would have clinched a playoff spot. The Knicks eked out the win, leaving the Nets thisclose to clinching.

If the Nets do make the playoffs:

As of today the Nets are looking at a rematch from last season with the Chicago Bulls in the first round. If this match up sticks, expect the Nets to be involved in a grueling seven game series, much like the season before. Despite their improved play late in the season, Brooklyn’s offense will have a difficult time executing against the stifling Chicago defense. Jason Kidd will also be entering his first playoff run as head coach, while Chicago’s Tom Thibodeau has had several years of experience, including a run to the Eastern Conference finals.

In addition to the current 13-game streak, the Nets have won 20 of their last 22 home games.

Jason Collins Staying With The Nets

The Brooklyn Nets will sign Jason Collins for the remainder of the season.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Nets, who feel they're getting everything they expected from Collins when they signed him for frontcourt depth Feb. 23, are already operating under the premise that the 34-year-old will finish the season with them even though his second 10-day deal doesn't expire until after Friday. Sources say that the internal expectation all along was that Collins would be a Net for the rest of the season, from the moment he signed his first 10-day deal, as long he proved that he could still be an effective defender, which he did immediately. Collins is averaging 9.8 minutes per game off the bench in eight appearances since his historic debut against the Los Angeles Lakers last month, which made him the first openly gay athlete in North America's four recognized major team sports. He most recently provided the Nets with some meaningful minutes defending against DeMarcus Cousins, logging 20 minutes in a 104-89 win over Sacramento last Sunday.

Gay NYers Turn Out For Collins Debut

According to openly gay former NFL player Wade Davis, there were many gay sports fans in the arena for Jason Collins' home debut last night.

“As a gay man, I’m always very much aware of how to recognize other gay men,” Davis said. “I won’t give up any of our secrets, but from an eye contact standpoint, I can definitely tell there is a higher proportion of gay men than I have ever experienced at an NBA game.” Anthony Nicodemo, head coach for the Saunders High School basketball team in Yonkers, who came out to his team last year, got tickets for Davis and friends. “It’s a big deal for the LGBT community. We always talk about sports as the last barrier, the last frontier. So being in New York, as diverse as it is, what’s a better place than Brooklyn for him to come place his first home game?” Former ESPN radio personality, Jared Max, who came out to his listeners in 2011, was sitting in the press box, taking it all in.

RELATED: In case you haven't noticed: the NBA has been advertising the Collins jersey right here on JMG.

BROOKLYN: Jason Collins Enters Game To Standing Ovation From Home Crowd

More details are in my update in the post below this one.

BROOKLYN: Jason Collins Debuts In First Home Game, Sources Claim He Will Get Second 10-Day Contract

Via the Associated Press:

A person with knowledge of the situation says the Brooklyn Nets will sign Jason Collins to a second 10-day contract. Collins signed his original deal on Feb. 23, becoming the NBA's first openly gay player, and it expires Tuesday. The Nets then will re-sign him for another 10 days on Wednesday, the person tells The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the plans haven't been made public. After that, the Nets would have to sign him for the rest of the season if they wanted to keep him.

Tonight's game against the Chicago Bulls starts at 7:30PM. If you're in NYC, the game is being broadcast on Time Warner channel 753, Verizon channel 576, and Comcast channel 212. Hit this link for channel numbers outside of NYC.

UPDATE: Collins sat on the bench until the final three minutes when the crowd began chanting his name. YES Network announcers took note of that. When Collins finally checked in with the Nets holding a comfortable lead, there was a huge ovation. His stats: 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 foul, 0 points. I monitored the Nets' stream on Twitter, where there were some really ugly comments. Positive to negative tweets ran about 50-50 overall. But the Nets did win their first home game with Jason Collins, who was swarmed by the press afterwards.

Tweet Of The Day - Jason Collins

ESPN reports:

Brooklyn Nets center Jason Collins met privately with the parents and brother of the late Matthew Shepard following the team's 112-89 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night at Pepsi Center. The player gave Dennis and Judy Shepard an autographed, No. 98 black and white jersey, and laughter could be heard throughout the 10-minute meeting. Collins, who became the first active openly gay player in NBA history Sunday after signing a 10-day contract with the Nets, wears No. 98 in honor of Shepard, who was beaten, tortured and murdered in a 1998 anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming. "It was great," said Judy Shepard, who had spoken with Collins by phone last year after Collins announced he was gay and wore No. 98 because of her son. "It was all great. He's very kind, smart, humble. It was delightful. We were happy to finally have the opportunity to meet." She said receiving his jersey was "cool. It was very sweet, very genuine and very thoughtful." "I did not want to give them a sweaty jersey," Collins said with a laugh when asked whether it was game-worn. "This is a backup."

RELATED: Collins scored three points in last night's game. They were the first points scored by an openly gay player in NBA history, but the announcers in the below clip made only routine comments. That's probably a good thing.

High Demand Moves NBA To Begin Selling Jason Collins' Brooklyn Nets Jersey

ESPN reports:

The jerseys were available at NBAStore.com and the NBA Store in Manhattan after the league received hundreds of inquiries both online and at the store, the spokesman said. Collins signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, becoming the first active openly gay player in league history. The Nets can give Collins a second 10-day deal once the first one expires. He will wear No. 98 -- starting Wednesday night at Portland -- in honor of Matthew Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured, beaten and murdered in 1998 in an anti-gay hate crime.

Sports writers are tweeting that this is an unusual move for a player with a ten-day contract.  The official NBA jersey costs $70. Ouch.

Today's New York Daily News

Jason Collins At Pre-Game Presser: I Know How To Play Basketball, I'm ReadyUPDATE: Standing Ovation As Collins Enters Game At Start Of Second Quarter

At this writing, the first quarter has ended and Collins has not yet entered the game. Fans and assholes are tweeting up a storm from the arena.

UPDATE: Collins has entered the game. And THAT, folks, is LGBT history being made tonight.

UPDATE II: Sports reporters on Twitter are calling it a standing ovation but the clip below only catches a few fans standing up. A very nice round of applause is audible, though.

About The Owner Of The Brooklyn Nets

The owner of the Brooklyn Nets is Russian banking and mining billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. In 2012 he ran for the Russian presidency against Vladimir Putin and won 8% of the vote. When he announced his candidacy in 2011, the NBA ruled that he could be president of Russia and still own an NBA team, citing the precedent of then-sitting US Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), who owns the Milwaukee Bucks. Prokhorov, 49, is also the head of the Russian Biathlon Union and yesterday he guided Russia's team to a gold medal. Prokhorov has campaigned for LGBT rights in Russia and last year declared, "It is a personal affair who has sex with whom." Some are speculating that the hiring of Jason Collins is a middle finger from Prokhorov to Putin.

RELATED: Tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers will not be televised nationally, but you can listen to the play-by-play online via the website of NYC sports radio station WFAN.  The game starts at 9PM Eastern.

Tweet Of The Day - Brooklyn Nets

That's former NBA superstar and current Brooklyn Nets head coach Jason Kidd giving Collins his contract. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has issued a press release:

"The return of Jason Collins to the Nets franchise is a milestone for all Brooklynites to celebrate. He began his career with this team, helping it win its first Eastern Conference titles in back-to-back seasons, and was beloved by teammates and fans for his professionalism and leadership. Last year, he became the first active male athlete in one of America’s four major professional sports to publicly identify as gay. In doing so, he became a trailblazer for the LGBT community and a role model for every community, especially our young people. Today, Brooklyn is truly proud to be Jason’s hometown team, as he has brought us pride both on and off the court. I wish him the best of success in helping to bring our borough its first sports championship in 59 years. Let’s go Nets!"

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reacts:

"Jason told us that his goal was to earn another contract with an NBA team. Today, I want to commend him on achieving his goal. I know everyone in the NBA family is excited for him and proud that our league fosters an inclusive and respectful environment."

Jason Collins Signs With Brooklyn Nets, Might Play In Tonight's Game Against LA

Yahoo Sports has the news:

Jason Collins has reached agreement on a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets, clearing the way for the first openly gay athlete in major professional sports history, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Collins will be signed and available to play on Sunday when the Nets meet the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center, sources told Yahoo. Collins, 35, has been out of the NBA since completing the 2012-'13 season with the Washington Wizards. Collins played parts of seven years with the Nets between 2001-08, and his ex-teammate, Jason Kidd, now the Nets coach, has been advocate of signing him.

Athlete Ally reacts via press release:

"We are entering a new era of inclusion with Jason Collins, the Brooklyn Nets and the NBA at the forefront. Jason may be the first, but he's not the last. It's because of him and the unprecedented leadership of professional leagues like the NBA that we'll see more and more LGBT athletes at all levels of competition", said Hudson Taylor, Executive Director of Athlete Ally. Taylor added: "I have seen first hand how committed the NBA is to ensuring that every team is welcoming and inclusive. It's invested in this effort and it's invested in Jason. I could not be happier for the NBA family today. Congratulations!"

Tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers begins at 6PM local time. The game will not be televised nationally, but can be viewed online if you subscribe to NBA League Pass - which ain't cheap.

Brooklyn Nets Consider Jason Collins

ESPN reports that the Brooklyn Nets brought Jason Collins to a private training event in Los Angeles this week, spurring speculation that the team is considering signing him. Collins would become the second* openly gay active player in any major American professional sport. The first was pro soccer player Robbie Rogers, who returned to the sport last May after coming out during a short retirement.

Nets general manager Billy King did not attend the workout, but said he was told Collins is "in shape." The Nets (25-27), three games behind Atlantic Division-leading Toronto entering Thursday's play, are one game into a five-game Western Conference swing. One scenario under consideration, sources said, is making a 10-day roster addition during the trip. Collins' potential reunion with the franchise, for whom he played during his first six-plus seasons in the league, would put the 7-footer in line to become the first openly gay athlete to play in any of North America's four traditional major team sports. Despite his modest career averages of 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds, Collins is a natural target for the Nets, given his defensive know-how, history with the franchise and reputation as a great teammate. Collins was the 18th pick in the 2001 NBA draft by Houston before being sent to the Nets in a draft-night deal. He has played for Memphis and Minnesota in addition to his stints with the Nets, Hawks, Celtics and Wizards.

*Collins came out last April while a free agent with the Washington Wizards and has not played in the NBA since. But some have argued that he still gets the "first" title since he technically belonged to a team at the time. And of course there are those who wouldn't call pro soccer a "major" sport.