Jason Collins Signs Up For A Ten-Day Deal With The Nets

Jason Collins Signs Up For A Ten-Day Deal With The Nets

Jason Collins signed up for a ten-day deal with the Brooklyn Nets, which makes him the first openly-gay professional athlete in the four major professional sports in North America. The Nets confirmed that it was set to finalize its ten-day deal with the NBA player who came out nearly ten months ago.

Collins will be available for the game of the Nets against the Los Angeles Lakers. Billy King, general manager of the Nets, revealed the signing of Collins was related to basketball. It was necessary for the team to increase its inside depth, and the experience and size of Collins made him the right choice for the deal.

Adam Silver, the new NBA commissioner, commended Jason Collins for achieving his goal of getting another contract with a team in the league. Silver added that the NBA is thrilled a proud that the league encourages a respectful and inclusive environment.

Collins made the announcement of his sexual orientation through Sports Illustrated last April, and become the first openly-gay professional basketball player in the NBA. However, the social impact of his announcement was not known during that time since Collins did not continue his career.

The most recent announcement changed everything. It may also be possible for Collins to be signed for the rest of the season due to rules of the collective bargaining agreement of the NBA that allow teams to sign players to a maximum of two ten-day deals within one season. The Brooklyn Nets may decide to sign him for the remainder of the season if all goes well.

The entry of Collins into the Nets was paved by the announcement of Glen Davis that he will sign up with the Los Angeles Clippers. After the buyout agreement with Orlando, Davis revealed that he took the Clippers and Nets into consideration.

Jason Collins averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds throughout his thirteen-season career.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Tuesday February 25 2014, 3:24 AM EST. Ref: USA Today. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0