Jason Collins, who last year became the first male player in major American team sports to come out as gay, will be one of first lady Michelle Obama’s guests for Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, the White House announced Monday.
Mr. Collins, a former Stanford star who played for six NBA teams, including the Washington Wizards and Boston Celtics, revealed his homosexuality in a Sports Illustrated cover story last spring. Since his announcement, Mr. Collins, 35, has remained a free agent.
Mss. Obama’s moves as her husband pushes gay awareness for the upcoming Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where even talking about homosexuality around minors is prohibited.
President Obama selected openly gay tennis icon Billie Jean King to lead the U.S. delegation in to Sochi.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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