NBA center Jason Collins became the first active male athlete in a professional U.S. team sport to come out as gay.

"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay," Collins said in an editorial posted on the Sports Illustrated website on Monday. "I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation."

Collins' coming out coincides with a time when public opinion on gay rights is rapidly changing. Polls show the majority of Americans now support marriage equality. In June, the Supreme Court will rule in two separate cases regarding the constitutionality of same-sex marriage.

Collins played for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards this season. He made sports history by publicly coming out and may pave the way for many other NBA and NFL players to do the same.

"I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different,'" Collins said in the poignantly-written editorial. "If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising hand."

Fellow NBA players Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, who both play for the Los Angeles Lakers, shared their support of Collins' brave move on Twitter.

"Proud of @jasoncollins34. Don't suffocate who u r because of the ignorance of others #courage #support #mambaarmystandup #BYOU," Bryant tweeted.

Nash tweeted that "the time has come" and he has "maximum respect" and was proud of Collins "for being real."

Collins said he hopes his coming out will strengthen his relationship with his teammates, rather than disrupt unit cohesion: "I'll sit down with any player who's uneasy about my coming out. Being gay is not a choice. This is the tough road and at times the lonely road."

Some professional athletes have not always shown support for gay rights. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver has previously stated that he would not want a gay player on the team. "I don't do the gay guys man. I don't do that. No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do," Culliver said in January.

Although Culliver and the 49ers issued an apology following the statement, such comments have shaped the perception that gay athletes were not welcome in professional sports in the U.S.