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"  Here at Cosmo, we&amp;#039;re all about owning your sexuality. That&amp;#039;s why we were thrilled to see that today, in an act of great bravery, 34 year-old-pro basketball player Jason Collins, a free agent who played for the Washington Wizards, came out publicly in an interview with Sports Illustrated.  Why is he coming out now, after decades of hiding his identity? &amp;quot;I started thinking about this in 2011 during the NBA player lockout,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m a creature of routine\u2026But the lockout wreaked havoc on my habits and forced me to confront who I really am and what I really want.&amp;quot; What he wanted was a life lived in the open, without lies. Terrified of being discovered, Collins hid his secret from his teammates, family and even friends. &amp;quot;No one wants to live in fear,&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don&amp;#039;t sleep well. I never have. But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger and sleep a little more soundly.&amp;quot; Before Collins decided to come out, he did what many gay men and women do: Pretend to be someone else. &amp;quot;When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged,&amp;quot; he admits. &amp;quot;I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.&amp;quot; As the first out man in the NBA, it will be interesting to see how the community, his teammates and fans will react. While hoping for the best, he says he is &amp;quot;planning for the worst.&amp;quot; At least he knows he has Bill Clinton on his side.   In a statement today Clinton said, &amp;quot;I have known Jason Collins since he was Chelsea&amp;#039;s classmate and friend at Stanford. Jason&amp;#039;s announcement today is an important moment for professional sports and in the history of the LGBT community. It is also the straightforward statement of a good man who wants no more than what so many of us seek: to be able to be who we are; to do our work; to build families and to contribute to our communities. For so many members of the LGBT community, these simple goals remain elusive. I hope that everyone, particularly Jason&amp;#039;s colleagues in the NBA, the media and his many fans extend to him their support and the respect he has earned.&amp;quot; Photo Credit: Getty Images Want more musings from Rose? Follow her on Twitter. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/news/a12638/jason-collins-gay/>