Local Childhood for Jason Collins Was Beginning Of His Journey To Self-Acceptance

Jason Collins became the first out gay major professional athlete, and it was his early upbringing that helped him feel comfortable to make that decision.

Collins and his twin brother attended Harvard-Westlake School, a prestigious private school in Studio City, and the Headmaster Tom Hudnut, who knew both of the boys since they were 14 years old, told the Huffington Post: 

"I was very proud of him because he saw an opoportunity to exercise leadership in his field and took it. I think it took a great deal of courage for him to do that, but it was entirely consistent with his personality. He's a very bright, very witty, very outgoing personality whom people really enjoyed being around."

Hudnut, who is retiring this year, was with the school for 26 years and said they both returned to the school to help with basketball clinics and support the school.

Harvard-Westlake vice president John Amato said, "Harvard-Westlake is open and very tolderant and those two qualities allow us to be the excellent strong school that we are."

Collins himself pointed out in his Sports Illustrated story: 

“I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different. If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.” (Click here for his first-person story.)

Harvard Chronicle student reporters also interviewed Head Basketball Coach Greg Hilliard, who coached the Collins brothers, and said, “Sexual orientation was never an issue to any of us. I’m just proud that he at this point decided it’s the right time to talk about it.” He said he recalls the athlete visiting him and bringing his girlfriend even in his 30s. Click here for the full story.

“It’s ludicrous to me that it’s still a story that sexual orientation matters,” Hilliard added. “I’ve been an athlete all my life and if it came out when I was younger, then athletes would make a big deal of it in the locker room. But now it does seem like a media story—but to me [sexual orientation] is a non-issue and it changes nothing.”

Collins said he dated women in school, but as he grew older, he was more definitive about his sexual identity, but kept it private.

Now 34, the athlete his twin brother Jarron Collins in the class of 1997 played basketball at Harvard-Westlake and played alongside actor Jason Segel, (Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall and I Love You, Man) while on the team. It was a year the Wolverines won two state championships for the first time and was called "The Best Team Ever" by local press.

A few weeks ago at Harvard-Westlake, the school had an assembly from former NBA player and openly gay performance psychologist John Amaechi. He was describing the discrimination he felt and his path of coming out. See the Harvard Chronicle story here. 

For the full report on the Huffington Post, click here.