Charles Barkley Rips U.S. Society After Death Of Jason Collins

Jason Collins, the former NBA big man who came out as gay during his career, passed away from brain cancer this week. He was 47 years old.

The NBA announced Collins' death via a statement from his family. He had previously been diagnosed with Stage 4 brain cancer.

"Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar," the statement said. "We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly."

In 2013, Collins came out as gay, through an essay with Sports Illustrated.

"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay," he wrote.

In speaking on Collins' death, Charles Barkley sounded off, making it clear that he believes we still live in a society where it's hard for gay athletes to come out publically.

He's probably not wrong about that, unfortunately.

While athletes like Jason Collins and Michael Sam have publicly came out, few others in the major American sports have.

Barkley sounds off on Collins' death

Barkley "hates" the way his story ended.

"Courageous, and when he came out, man, I thought it was amazing to put himself under the microscope and the scrutiny and the hatred and the vitriol that was going to happen," he said. "But man, I hate the way this story ended because he was a shining example. Do you man. Obviously, anybody out there who's struggling with their sexuality, do you. Gay people have the right to do what they want to do. It's nobody else's business at all. For him to come out, it was great and obviously, you know, a lot of times, especially in the black community, when you're gay, you get treated awful. And that sucks, too. But I was proud of him for coming out. And when I got that news yesterday, it just sucked."

He continued.

"But Kenny, in fairness, now, if another guy did it, it would still be a big deal because we live in a homophobic society. And that's unfortunate," Barkley said. "That's why, first of all, anybody who thinks we ain't got a bunch of gay players in all sports, they're just stupid. But there is such animosity toward the gay community, and that's what's really unfortunate. But anybody who think him, and I know a couple other soccer players that came out, if you think there are not more gay players in the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the NBA, you're just stupid."

Our thoughts are with Collins' family and friends.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 9:40 AM.