Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.”
The statement did not provide a cause of death.
Photo: AP
The NBC television affiliate in Los Angeles cited unnamed law enforcement sources in reporting that Clarke was found dead on Monday in a home in the suburban San Fernando Valley, where paramedics responded to an emergency call.
The station reported that authorities were investigating Clarke’s death as a possible drug overdose.
Grizzlies star Ja Morant also paid tribute to his teammate with several posts on Instagram, including one photo of Clarke enveloping him in a hug on court.
Photo: AP
“It’s bigger than basketball,” Morant wrote.
Clarke’s death came six weeks after he was arrested in Arkansas on charges that included possession of a controlled substance and fleeing in a vehicle while speeding.
The San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night paid tribute to Clarke and Collins with a moment of silence before their playoff game.
Collins’ family said he had died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma.
“Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar,” the family said in a statement released through the NBA.
Collins, 47, had revealed in a brief statement in September last year that he was undergoing treatment for a brain tumor and in December told ESPN that he had been diagnosed with a “multiforme” glioblastoma that was growing quickly.
Collins, who retired in 2014 after a 13-year NBA career, announced he was gay in a 2013 Sports Illustrated story.
“When I did come out publicly, it was interesting, it was very rare, but I got back-to-back calls from Oprah Winfrey and President Barack Obama,” Collins said in an interview with ESPN last year. “President Obama said: ‘Congratulations — what you’ve done today will have a positive impact on someone you might not ever meet in your lifetime.’”
He said he hoped discussing his cancer diagnosis could help a stranger in the same way.
Additional reporting by AP
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