Jason Collins

“If you were to ask Tony Dungy if he feels like homophobia is in his level of thinking or if he's homophobic, he'd say no. Well, if you were to ask Donald Sterling if he sees how his comments are racist, he said no, too. Some people don't recognize their own racism, homophobia.”

“Of course, life is not a Disney movie. Life is messy. There were some people in my family who made gay jokes and used inappropriate language while I was growing up. Coming out to some people was more challenging than others, but in the end, I was amazed by how much my sexuality didn't matter.”

“I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport.”

“It's my job to go out there and do my job and be ready when my name and number is called, regardless of what team I am playing for.”

“It's healthy to have differing opinions in a democracy, but we have to respect each other and challenge ourselves to do better - to be better.”

“I had a happy childhood in the suburbs of L.A. My parents instilled in us an appreciation of history, art and, most important, Motown. Jarron and I weren't allowed to listen to rap until we were 12. After our birthday I dashed to Target and bought DJ Quik's album 'Quik Is the Name.' I memorized every line.”

“It's nice to have a positive impact on someone's else's life, and I feel like with my actions that I've had a positive impact on someone's else's life.”

“I've been on successful teams pretty much my whole career, but even those two seasons I finished with Memphis and Minnesota, you learn just as much from adversity and losses as you do from success.”

“There's nothing more beautiful than just allowing yourself to really be happy and be comfortable in your own skin.”

“My job as a professional is to be ready when your name and number is called. You always have to be ready.”

“There isn't a professional athlete that doesn't want to play 12, 13 years.”

“The worst insult you can give a professional athlete is to call them soft. And the stereotype out there is that gay is soft.”

“When you keep telling yourself a lie, at some point you buy your own cover story, like a CIA spy or something.”

“When I was playing with the Brooklyn Nets, we still called people soft, but we never equated it with being gay. It shows people are capable of changing language and culture.”

“Hopefully my actions will make it easier for them to live their life, to be whoever they want to be.”

“The best part of when you reveal your authentic self publicly is that it will allow those people around you, whether it's your teammates or people who you thought were friends, you will see their true colors come out. Some people who you might have thought would not be supporters end up being some of your biggest supporters.”

“I am really good at playing it straight.”

“I am a fan of the Colts and Andrew Luck.”

“I think it's up to the rest of us to try to create that environment where those closeted athletes out there know that when they do choose to step forward, that they will be supported and championed, and continue to play the sport, continue to evolve, and not feel that they have to hide who they are.”

“When I came into the NBA from Stanford, I had already decided what type of player I would be. I wanted to be the best player and teammate I could be, but not attract too much attention or make too much noise. I didn't want people to start asking questions about my personal life.”