Basketball player Jason Collins has come out as gay, becoming the first openly gay athlete in a major US team sport.

The seven foot tall 34-year-old, who plays center for the Washington Wizards, has come out in an article for Sports Illustrated.

He said: ‘I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, “I’m different."

‘If I had my way, someone else would have already done this.

‘Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.’

Speaking about the recent bombings at the Boston marathon, he said when he realized how ‘everything can change in an instant’ it convinced him to come out now.

‘When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue,’ he added.

‘No one wants to live in fear. I’ve always been scared of saying the wrong thing. I don’t sleep well. I never have. But each time I tell another person, I feel stronger and sleep a little more soundly.

‘It takes an enormous amount of energy to guard such a big secret. I’ve endured years of misery and gone to enormous lengths to live a lie. I was certain that my world would fall apart if anyone knew.

‘And yet when I acknowledged my sexuality I felt whole for the first time. ‘

Concluding his article, he said: ‘Pro basketball is a family. And pretty much every family I know has a brother, sister or cousin who’s gay. In the brotherhood of the NBA, I just happen to be the one who’s out.’

Collins attended Stanford University, where he was an All-American in 2000 to 2001 and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He left having achieved a number one ranking for field goal percentage.

He went on to play for the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics.

He joined the Washington Wizards this year.