illustrated the number has great significance to the gay community, one of the most notorious gay hate crimes occurred in 1998, matthew shepherd. he was kidnapped, tortured, lashed to a prairie fence. he died five days after he was finally found. each time i put on jersey 98 this past season i was already sort of having that moment with myself, with my family, with my friends who knew the significance of why i picked that number. jersey 98 format u shepherd. jersey 98 format u shepherd. that s why i wore jersey 98. joining me, matthew s parents. they have founded a foundation. thanks for joining me tonight. judy, what did it feel like for you to hear matthew jason collins talking about your son like that? made me cry to know that
equality. that was president obama today on jason collins who made history when he wrote this in sports illustrated. i am a 34-year-old nba center, i m black and i m gay. jason collins is the first openly gay athlete on a major professional sports team in this country s 142 years of professional team sports. today he discussed his phone call with the president. he was incredibly supportive and he was proud of me and said that this not only affected my life but others going forward. last season jason collins wore jersey number 98. collins writes in sports illustrated the number has great significance to the gay community, one of the most notorious gay hate crimes occurred in 1998, matthew shepard. he was kidnapped, tortured, lashed to a prairie fence.