News

The UNI Sport Pro Global Alliance of Basketball Player Associations, which was created to protect and promote the rights and common interests of professional basketball players worldwide, released a statement regarding Jason Collins, the NBA star who announced that he was gay earlier this week. Collins is the first active male athlete from one of the four major US pro sports of basketball, ice hockey, American football, and baseball to come out:



“The Global Alliance of Basketball Player Associations supports Jason Collins and applauds his recent announcement. During the group’s inaugural meeting, held at the NBPA’s New York City offices, representatives from basketball associations from Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, Israel, Italy and Spain reiterated their commitment to the equal treatment of all players, regardless of their background, religion, gender, national origin or sexual orientation.”



Collins has been widely praised for his courageous and ground-breaking decision to speak out.



The three-day meeting of the UNI Sport Pro Global Alliance of Basketball Player Associations kicked off on May Day (May 1), otherwise known as International Workers’ Day, and is focused on preserving and advancing professional basketball players’ rights worldwide.



UNI Sport Pro is a sector of UNI Global Union, which represents more than 100 player associations from numerous sports worldwide.