Jason Collins 'extremely proud' of NBA for moving All-Star Game

Among the long list of those speaking out since the NBA announced it will relocate the 2017 All-Star Game, Jason Collins says he is proud of the NBA's decision.

Collins, who became the first openly gay, active NBA player when he appeared in 22 games with the Brooklyn Nets in 2014 after announcing he was gay in Sports Illustrated the year before, released the following statement on Twitter Thursday.

As a member of the NBA family and as a gay man, I'm extremely proud to see the NBA take initiative and move the All-Star Game from North Carolina. Their decision is an extremely poignant one and shows that discrimination of any kind is not welcome in sports and is not acceptable in any part of our society. The NBA has set the best kind of precedent moving forward for all to follow.

The NBA decided to move the 2017 All-Star festivities, originally set for Charlotte, because of North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2, which eliminates anti-discrimination protections for members of the LGBT community.