“They Made Him Retire” – Dennis Rodman Makes Controversial Statement, Claims NBA Made a Player Quit Because He Was Gay
According to Dennis Rodman, the NBA forced a player to quit because he was gay. Rodman, who was noted for his flashy clothes in his later years, supports and advocates for the LGBTIQA+ community. On other occasions, he has also dressed in clothes normally associated with the opposing gender.
During a recent interview with Vlad TV, Rodman said that the NBA made a player stop playing after he revealed his homosexuality to the public. Rodman didn’t mention any names, but he might be referring to Jason Collins, who retired one year after publicly coming out as gay in 2013.
Dennis Rodman calls out the NBA
“The NBA had some type of rule or policy because I think 10 years ago a guy came out as gay and said he was gay in the NBA. They made him retire. … I was talking to him in Miami, he lives in Miami now with his husband. He’s like 6-foot-11 or something like that. Very successful player and he came out as gay and the NBA didn’t know how to react to that,” Rodman said.
Dennis Rodman may have been talking about Jason Collins, but he didn’t say his name. Collins was a basketball player who came out as gay while playing in the NBA in 2013. He was chosen as the 18th pick in the 2001 NBA draft from Stanford University. Collins played for the New Jersey Nets for most of his career and was an important part of the team when they made it to the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
Jason Collins played for various NBA teams including the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and Washington Wizards. He came out as gay near the end of the 2012-13 season, and it took around 10 months for him to be signed by a team. He eventually joined the Brooklyn Nets, played 22 games, and retired on November 19, 2014, after a 13-year career in the NBA.
Rodman respects the gay community
During an interview with Vlad TV, Dennis Rodman expressed his support for the gay community. Rodman, who is not gay but enjoys wearing flamboyant clothing, stated that he does not have to be gay to love and support the LGBT community.
“I’m this open individual that loves people pretty much. I don’t have to be gay to love my gay community. I don’t have to do that. My gay community loves me because I respect them. I’m not judging them or their character, the desire to be who they are, I don’t care about that,” he said.
