Jason Collins to Tony Dungy: Look at my example with Brooklyn Nets

Jason Collins is unlikely to ever play in the NBA again. After a short, history-making stint with the Nets, the 36-year-old is now a free agent and although he's not officially retired, he hasn't been working out for teams.  That doesn't mean he isn't talking about the value of his time with the Nets.

Collins responded Wednesday to Tony Dungy's comment earlier in the week about Michael Sam.

"I wouldn’t have taken him. Not because I don’t believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it. [...] It’s not going to be totally smooth … things will happen."

Collins was asked about it on Takepart.com and he noted that people have to be wary of "code words" and noted that despite the historic nature of his signing, it quickly became about basketball...

"As an NBA coach, shouldn't he want a challenge. As an athlete, I love a challenge, overcoming obstacles. That being said, I think that personnel, coaches, owners, can look at my example, my journey and see that after two weeks back, it was about basketball. There were games, especially a month after I was signed, that reporters didn't even ask me any questions.

"It will always go back to the sport because there's only so many ways they can write the articles, only so many ways they can talk about LGBT issues when you're a professional athlete because you're a professional athlete first."

Collins said that he laughs whenever he hears a "codeword" being used, adding. "I know what you're really saying. I'm above that."

• Jason Collins on the Dangerous Code Words Used to Refer to Gay Athletes (Video) - Jacob Soboroff & Meghan McCain - Takepart
• Jason Collins to Tony Dungy: 'Shouldn't you want all challenges?' - Kelly Dwyer - Yahoo! Sports