October 12, 1998: The Murder of Matthew Shepard

October 12, 1998: Matthew Shepard, an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming, dies 5 days after being beaten and tied to a wooden fence post -- a filthy twist on the Crucifixion -- in the University's town of Laramie. He was a few weeks short of his 22nd birthday. His killers were convicted, and sentenced to life in prison, where they remain.

As it happened, after he was found, he was taken to a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. Fort Collins is the home of Colorado State University -- which the University of Wyoming considers their arch-rival in sports. (And likewise. The University of Colorado is each's secondary rival, but considers its own biggest rival to be the University of Nebraska.)

Matthew Shepard effectively became to the gay rights movement what Emmett Till was to the original Civil Rights Movement. His murder helped to create a new generation of gay rights activists, one not old enough to remember the depth of the AIDS epidemic in the mid-1980s, much less the Stonewall Riot in 1969 or the assassination of Harvey Milk and its aftermatch in 1978 and '79. It also inspired hate-crime legislation.

On May 6, 2013, basketball player Jason Collins became the 1st major league athlete to come out while still active. He had already dropped a hint at the start of that season, when, having been signed by the Boston Celtics, he switched his uniform number from the 34 he had worn with previous teams to 98, in Matthew's memory.

*

October 12, 1998 was a Monday. Game 5 of the National League Championship Series was played at Qualcomm Stadium, formerly named San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium. After 7 innings, the San Diego Padres led the Atlanta Braves, 4-2. The Braves scored 5 runs in the top of the 8th, to take the lead. The Padres tried to come back in the bottom of the 9th, and fell just short, 7-6.

The Padres had led the series 3 games to none. Now, the Braves had closed to within 3-2. To that point, no team, in either League's Championship Series history, had come back from being down 3-0 to force a Game 7. This was the 1st time a Game 6 had even been forced. But the Padres won Game 6 in Atlanta to take the Pennant.

The American League Championship Series was on a travel day. The New York Yankees led the Cleveland Indians, 3 games to 2. The next night, the Yankees won Game 6 to take the Pennant.

And on ABC Monday Night Football, the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Miami Dolphins, 28-21 at Alltel Stadium (now TIAA Bank Field) in Jacksonville, Florida.

February 23, 2014: Jason Collins Becomes the 1st Out U.S. Athlete

February 23, 2014: The Brooklyn Nets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 108-102 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles. Jason Collins played 10 minutes and 37 seconds for the Nets, and he didn't score any points. He did, however, have an offensive rebound, a defensive rebound, and a steal.

This appearance made Collins, who, in the off-season, publicly revealed that he is gay -- also known as "coming out of the closet," or "outing yourself," and was not, at the time, signed to any team -- the first openly gay athlete in major league sports in North America.

Presuming, of course, that you do not include MLS, Major League Soccer, as "major league." Robbie Rogers had already played for the Los Angeles Galaxy since coming out. So far, the reaction to him has been positive. But in the traditional "Big Four" North American sports, Collins was the first. And it appeared that, on that night, the L.A. fans -- presumably, many of whom had cheered Rogers -- treated Collins no worse than they treated any other opposing player.

A few other athletes have come out after retirement. Collins, knowing that he could still have a shot at signing with a new team, but also that teams might shy away from signing him if they knew, chose to be honest, and let them know. The Nets decided that it didn't matter, that it wasn't an indication of bad character, and that he might still be able to help them win, and they signed him.

Born on December 2, 1978 in Los Angeles, Jason Paul Collins was an All-American center at Stanford University. He had previously played with the New Jersey Nets from 2001 to 2008, before their 2012 move to Brooklyn. He played the 2nd half of the 2007-08 season with the Memphis Grizzlies, 2008-09 with the Minnesota Timberwolves, 2009-12 with the Atlanta Hawks, most of 2012-13 with the Boston Celtics, and the end of that season with the Washington Wizards. He ended up playing 22 games for the Nets, starting only 1, and never played again.

In that 1st game for the Nets, he wore Number 46. For his remaining games with the Nets, he wore 98, as he had with the Celtics and the Wizards. He wore it in memory of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was murdered for being gay in 1998. Having proven his point, he announced his retirement on November 19, 2014.

Glenn Burke, who played baseball in the 1970s, didn't "come out" while he was playing, because, in his own mind, he was never "in." Baseball fans at large didn't know he was gay, but his teammates knew, and most of them didn't care. Unfortunately, he played for 2 bigoted managers, Tommy Lasorda and Billy Martin. Lasorda ordered him traded away from the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Billy Martin, with the Oakland Athletics, had him sent down to the minors, burying him and prematurely ending his career.

One day, people who are gay will not have to face the choice of announcing it, or keeping themselves in the closet because they're afraid of repercussions. One day, we will hear that someone is gay, and we'll say, "So what? It doesn't make a difference. It's his (or her) business, not ours."

Until then, anyone facing the choice that Jason Collins and Robbie Rogers have made -- not being gay, but revealing it -- will need more Collinses and Rogerses, to move people's hearts and minds forward. Such people will advance our society in the same way that Jackie Robinson did on race, to the point where the only thing that matters is, "Can he play?"

If a player is a good player and a good teammate, then I don't care if he's a purple Buddhist from Mars in a ménage-a-trois with a college kid and a teddy bear: His personal life doesn't matter, and he can play on my team. If a player is exactly like I was as a young man, except with talent, but not enough to make it at the major league level, then I'd cut him.

I'd rather have a gay player on my team than an anti-gay player.

UPDATE: Jason Collins died of cancer on May 12, 2026. He was only 47 years old.

*

February 23, 2014 was a Sunday. Baseball and football were out of season. And the NHL was in its Winter Olympic break. But there were 7 other games in the NBA that day:

* The Miami Heat beat the Chicago Bulls, 93-79 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Orlando Magic, 105-90 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Washington Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 96-83 at the Quicken Loans Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 125-117 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City. Despite the loss, Kevin Durant scored 42 points for the Thunder.

* The Sacramento Kings beat the Denver Nuggets, 109-95 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns, 115-112 at the US Airways Center (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 108-97 at the Moda Center in Portland.