Brooklyn Nets players are open to sharing a locker room with the openly gay Jason Collins, saying they will accept the veteran center if he ends up signing with the team.
All-Star shooting guard Joe Johnson told NY Daily News: "Everybody here is pretty much comfortable in their own skin." Center Andray Blatche echoed Johnson's statement saying:
"You are who you are. I don't have a problem with (Collins). I'm pretty sure nobody on this team has a problem with him."
Star guard Deron Williams said the league as a whole will show the world that it is prepared to deal with a gay player. He told the same website: "It's 2014. Michael Sam just came out, and his teammates welcomed him, and they're in college," Williams said. "It's time for the NBA as well."
However, the guard said he knows that signing Collins will create a buzz especially the media, and he expressed belief this is one of the reasons why the 36-year-old center has not been given another chance to play in the league. After playing out his contract with the Washington Wizards last year, Collins has not played a single minute in the league since he revealed his sexuality in a story that appeared in Sports Illustrated.
Williams said of Collins: "He's a solid role player. It's just the distraction thing, that might be the thing that's deterring teams. But like I said, with us I don't see that being a problem. The team we have, the coaching staff we have will definitely welcome him."
He continued: "It's not him being a distraction, it's just the media coming along with it, because every city you go to it's not just like you answer a question once and then it's over with. It's a recurring thing. But like I said, I don't see that being a problem with us."
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