NBA player, Jason Collins, shocked the world in April when he became the first man active in pro sports to come out as gay. No one was more surprised than Carolyn Moos, his former fiancée. Credit: Richard Foulser/Cosmopolitan
In April, Jason Collins was the first the first major athlete to come out as gay in an op-ed in Sports Illustrated. He wrote, “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay. I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation. 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.”
The world was shocked but prehaps no one more so than his former fiance, Carolyn Moos. “A month before I was set to marry the man I loved, he called off the wedding. I had no idea why. He and I had been together for eight years. We had planned to have children, build a family. Nearly four years later, I got my answer…Jason told me he’s gay over the phone on a Monday morning in April, the same day the magazine hit newsstands. However, he didn’t mention the article – that came as a surprise when I heard about it from a friend,” she told the latest issue of Cosmopolitan.
And even though Moos claims she’s happy for Collins and thinks he is very brave, she is still angry at his deception. “I empathize with Jason and support him. But at the same time, I remain deeply hurt by him,” she said. “I wish he could have been honest with me years ago. I feel like there are two Jasons now—the man I fell in love with and the man I’m trying so hard to understand. He’s being hailed as a pioneer, but I believe true heroism is a result of being honest with yourself and with those you love.”
