"We stand with Russia's LGBT community and their allies," HRC President Chad Griffin said. "We are committed to doing as much as we possibly can to support their efforts to repeal this heinous law."
Jason Collins of the Washington Wizards comes out in the May 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, becoming the first gay athlete in major U.S. men's professional sports to come out during his career.
"I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay," Collins writes in the first-person essay, which is online now.
"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. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this," he writes. "Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand."