Collins takes part in gay pride parade
NBA veteran center Jason Collins, the first active athlete in one of the four U.S. major professional sports leagues to come out as being gay, marched Saturday for nearly three miles in Boston’s gay pride parade with U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, his onetime roommate at Stanford University.
Collins wore a T-shirt that read “#BeTrue” when he joined thousands of marchers in the parade, chatting with well-wishers, greeting other marchers and holding babies as people came up to him to express their support.
The parade also featured former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank – the first sitting member of Congress to enter into a same-sex marriage – who also represented Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District before Kennedy. U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate seeking the seat once held by John Kerry, who stepped down to become secretary of state, also marched.
The parade’s grand marshal, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, did not march because he is recovering from prostate surgery. Still, he came out of his city-owned house to greet Collins, Kennedy and other marchers as they passed by.
In coming out as gay in April, Collins wrote in an article for Sports Illustrated that his decision to go public came when Kennedy marched in last year’s parade, and Collins didn’t feel that he could join him.
He also said the Boston Marathon bombing reinforced the notion that things can change in an instant, so he might as well live truthfully.
Collins has played for six teams in 12 seasons and becomes a free agent next month. The Celtics dealt him to the Washington Wizards in a midseason trade.
Collins also threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Red Sox game Thursday.
Collins said in April that he “endured years of misery and gone to enormous lengths to live a lie.”
Flay prepares feast for Obama, Xi
When President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat down for dinner, they feasted on several dishes prepared by one of America’s top chefs.
The White House says celebrity chef Bobby Flay prepared a menu for the two leaders that included lobster tamales, Porterhouse steak and cherry pie.
The meal was served Friday in the dining room at Sunnylands, the sprawling estate in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where Obama and Xi met for their talks.
Flay is known for his Southwestern cooking. He owns several restaurants around the country and stars in several cooking programs on the Food Network.
The birthday bunch
Comedian Jackie Mason is 85. Actor Michael J. Fox is 52. Writer-producer Aaron Sorkin is 52. Actor Johnny Depp is 50 Actress Natalie Portman is 32.