May 12 (UPI) — Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player who later carved out a high-profile role as a goodwill ambassador for the game of basketball, has died of brain cancer, the NBA announced Tuesday. He was 47.

Collins’ family revealed in September that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and in December, the former 13-year veteran confirmed he had Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.

His death was announced by family members in a statement that read, “We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has 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. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’ impact and influence “extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”

As a player and an NBA Cares Ambassador, he “exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism” and will be remembered “not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”

Collins in December said that symptoms of his cancer appeared shortly after he had married the “love of my life,” Brunson Green, in Austin, Texas, in May, and then progressed rapidly.

But he vowed to fight the disease.

“As an athlete you learn not to panic in moments like this,” he wrote in a piece published by ESPN. “These are the cards I’ve been dealt. To me it’s like, ‘Shut up and go play against Shaq.’

“You want the challenge? This is the challenge. And there is no bigger challenge in basketball than going up against prime Shaquille O’Neal, and I’ve done that.”

Collins played for the New Jersey and Brooklyn Nets, Memphis, Minnesota, Atlanta, Boston and Washington during his 13-year career.

He made history in 2013 in becoming the first publicly gay athlete to play in any of the four main North American sports leagues.

After his retirement the next year, he became a NBA Cares Ambassador with a a mission spreading goodwill on behalf of the NBA with its players, community and corporate partners.