NBA fans reacted to the terrible news of Jason Collins getting diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
Over at social media platform X, NBA fans expressed their thoughts on the news that former NBA star Jason Collins, who is the first openly gay player in the league, is battling cancer.
“Hate to hear this, guy is a legend!” one fan said.
Former NBA player Jason Collins reveals he has Stage 4 terminal brain cancer
He was the first openly gay player in NBA history pic.twitter.com/wibOS5BktT
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) December 11, 2025
In a report by ESPN, Collins revealed the details of his brain cancer diagnosis and detailed how he was advised that no surgery can remove the tumor in his brain.
“A few months ago, my family released a short statement saying I had a brain tumor,” Collins told the outlet. “It was simple, but intentionally vague. But now it’s time for people to hear directly from me. I have Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. It came on incredibly fast.”
Collins described a rapid decline in cognitive function that began with subtle symptoms, including difficulty concentrating that caused him to miss travel plans, and escalated to severe memory and comprehension problems.
He also added that the reasons he went public with this sensitive information was also the same reason that he decided to go public with his sexuality more than a decade ago.
“Your life is so much better when you just show up as your true self, unafraid to be your true self, in public or private. This is me. This is what I’m dealing with,” he said.
He is undergoing treatment that includes the drug Avastin and radiation, which Collins says have helped restore some clarity, and he is receiving targeted chemotherapy at a clinic in Singapore using EDV delivery to cross the blood-brain barrier.
NBA Fans React to Jason Collins’ News
Over at X, NBA fans reacted to the news of former NBA player Jason Collins being diagnosed with a terminal brain cancer condition. While most fans showed support and expressed thoughts and prayers, some saw the addition of the detail of his being gay as unnecessary.
“No one cares if he is gay not really necessary to tweet that part,” one fan said.
no one cares if he is gay not rlly necessary to tweet that part
— Justin Reale (@reale_justin) December 11, 2025
“Second part was extremely unneeded even if there was no bad intentions,” another fan said.
Meanwhile, some fans defended the detail as simply being part of the highlight of his career, though not related to the update about him right now.
Still, for the most part, NBA fans have shown support and expressed messages of motivation for Collins, who played across six teams throughout his career.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
