For months there has been speculation as to when the first active player in the four major professional sports would publicly come out of the closet. Today is that day.

Free agent center Jason Collins, an 12-year NBA veteran, who played for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards this past season, declared in a Sports Illustrated cover story that he’s “a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”

Here are five quotes from the first-person profile that detail Collins’ experience and why he decided to make the announcement now.

Contributing: Mike Foss