Jason Collins was honored with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the 2026 ESPY Awards on Wednesday, July 15, a posthumous tribute to the NBA pioneer after his death from glioblastoma.
The award is given to an individual who has made a difference off the field by standing up for their beliefs, and Collins fit that standard in a way that extended far beyond basketball. He was the NBA’s first openly gay player, and his visibility turned him into a landmark figure in sports and LGBTQ history.
Collins’ family announced to the NBA on May 12, 2026, that he had died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma. The diagnosis became public in December 2025, when Collins shared in an interview with that he had stage IV glioblastoma.
What Brunson Green said
Brunson Green recalled Collins’ reaction to learning about the disease, saying he was looking up glioblastoma and saw how grim the outlook can be. Green said Collins wanted to fight the illness and keep going for as long as he could because he believed it might help other people.
That perspective reflected the way Collins approached his diagnosis publicly. He spoke about how dangerous glioblastoma is, describing how it grows in the skull, how aggressive it can be, and how it can encroach on the frontal lobe. He also called it “multiforme” and described the disease as “extraordinary for all the wrong reasons.”
Jarron Collins accepts on his behalf
Jarron Collins accepted the award for his brother and said he wished Jason was there to receive it himself. He said Jason was willing to share his experience, treatment and plans in the hope that others could benefit from hearing his story.
Jarron Collins also said he intends to make sure the night is not the end of his brother’s legacy, but the beginning of it. He added that many more people can still benefit from hearing Jason’s story, and that it is the family’s responsibility to keep telling it and carry on what he started.
The tribute gave the 2026 ESPY Awards a moment that was both personal and widely resonant. For Collins, the honor recognized not only a basketball career that broke barriers, but also the way he used his platform in the face of a devastating diagnosis.
