Collins keeps spirit of Shepard alive
Dennis Shepard caught some of the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers on TV Sunday night, which means he caught the most meaningful 10 minutes, 37 seconds of February basketball ever played by an NBA reserve who did not make a single shot. Jason Collins did get his money's worth with five fouls, however, and he sure did set a mean pick.
"It hurt just to watch," Shepard said.
The 65-year-old fan from Casper, Wyo., loved every precious second of it. He did wonder why Collins wasn't wearing jersey No. 98 for the Nets, the one the 7-footer wore with the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards to honor the memory of Shepard's son, Matthew, murdered in 1998 for the "crime" of being gay. Dennis Shepard figured that Collins might've been honoring someone else with No. 46 or that the Nets might've retired his first preference.
He didn't know that Brooklyn had only its spare jersey (46) available Sunday and that Collins is scheduled to be wearing 98 again in Portland on Wednesday night, not that Shepard was sweating the small stuff. He was just happy to see the first openly gay man in major American team sports out there doing what he loves to do, and inspiring kids everywhere to be unafraid of who they are.
"Jason helps those kids go ahead and live their lives to the fullest, and take their talent in academics, in sports, wherever it can take them," Shepard said by phone Monday. "Some kids are still living hidden lives, living in fear, and the more you see Jason and Michael Sam and others encouraging them to be themselves, they'll understand they can get to the top of whatever ladder they're climbing."
more
http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/10513334/jason-collins-keeps-spirit-matthew-shepard-alive-no-98