Man Crush Monday (#mancrushmonday) is back and this week we celebrate Jason Collins, a retired basketball player who paved the way for gay athletes and men as well as showed the world that a black man can be successful. This success led him to be included on the cover of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World.” An incredible honor but more than that it is  also incredibly accurate.  He was the first gay man to play in any of the North America Pro Leagues (this includes NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB).

Jason was born in Northridge, California with his twin brother Jarron Collins who is also in the NBA. Jason and Jarron both went to Harvard-Westlake School. From there Jason went to play for Stanford University.

His first team was the New Jersey Jets on which he played for seven years before moving to the Memphis Grizzlies for a year and then Minnesota Timberwolves for a year. From there he played Atlanta Hawks for three years then Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets all for a year.

According the website, Basketball Reference his career ended with his statistics being 2, 621 points (3.6ppg) 2, 706 rebounds (3.7 rpg) and 359 blocks (0.5 bpg).

Jason Collins came out by writing an article in Sports Illustrated that was released May 6th, 2013. He was widely supported by other influential people including NBA Commissioner David Stern, Barack Obama and his wife, Bill Clinton and Nike.

Jason Collins truly helped out a lot of people. Sports are seen as masculine and have always stayed away from the idea of homosexuality. He went forth and did something that nobody was willing to talk about. He broke down some of the last barriers that existed between professional sports, North American ideology and homosexuals.

This is our crush not only for his obvious great looks but for his bravery as well. He became a leader for others who are afraid to come out. He is one of the first athletes ever inducted into the new National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame and paved the way, lighting a path for many others to be inducted as well in the future.

We also take the time to celebrate his achievements for Black History Month celebrating his bravery and leadership and being a great role model and key in the movement for African Americans. Thank you Jason Collins!