Jason Collins last night became the first openly gay player in major US sports, when he played for the NBA's Brooklyn Nets against the LA Lakers at the Staples Center.
Earlier in the day he signed a 10-day contract with the Nets, and played ten scoreless minutes in his team's 108-102 victory.
Asked before the game about how the weight of history was affecting him, Collins said: "Right now I'm focusing on trying to learn the plays, learning the coverages and the game plan and the assignments. So I didn't have time to really think about history."
His return to the game comes shortly after college football player Michael Sam, the Missouri defensive end, revealed he was gay in advance of the NFL draft combine. Asked if he felt the attitudes were changing in relation to gay athletes, Collins said: "I hope so. What Michael said was it was about him being a football player and me being a basketball player, and going out there and trying to help our respective teams win,"
Collins, a 35-year-old 12-year NBA veteran, came out as gay last April in a Sports Illustrated article, which received widespread praise throughout the sports world and beyond. He checked into the game in the second quarter, to loud applause from much of the crowd.
