Nets sign Jason Collins; ESPN, 2/24/14

Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN; Nets sign Jason Collins:

"Jason Collins became the first openly gay athlete in North America's four major professional sports Sunday, signing a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets."...

Collins will wear No. 98 for the Nets, but was unable to wear it Sunday because it was not available in time for the game against the Lakers, so he wore No. 46 instead.

Collins' choice of the No. 98 is in honor of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who died in a notorious anti-gay hate crime in 1998. Collins has worn the jersey number with both the Celtics and Wizards...

Collins hasn't played in an NBA game since April 2013 with the Washington Wizards. Collins, who has a house in the Los Angeles area, said it was "pretty easy" to get to downtown for the game. He's been working out on his own for months in the L.A. area after failing to earn an invite to training camp from any of the league's 30 teams in the wake of revealing his sexual orientation to Sports Illustrated in April of last year.

"Life is so much better for me. I don't have to hide who I am. Just be my normal self," Collins said."