NBA fans can't stop buying the jersey of the league's first openly gay player

NBA fans can&#039;t stop buying the jersey of the league&#039;s first openly gay player

(Image credit: Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

The NBA signed its first openly gay basketball player and not only did the world not end, but it's proving fruitful for the league's bottom line. Jason Collins' jersey for the Brooklyn Nets has become the top-selling item in the league's store. Although the NBA declined to disclose sales figures to the New York Times, it did say that since it began selling the jersey on Saturday, it has already bypassed those of the league's other superstars.

Collins was signed to a 10-day contract last Saturday, and it only took three days before his uniform became the NBA's most popular jersey. Even though he didn't score a single point and only played for 11 minutes during his debut game, the "Collins 98" jersey sold out online and in stores, according to an NBA spokesperson.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.

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