ABC News reports that sales on #98  jerseys soared this week!:

Team spokesman Scott Hall told ABC News
that 100 percent of custom jerseys ordered from the team’s online store
bore Collins’ name and number, 98, on the back, after Collins revealed
his homosexuality in an article published on Sports Illustrated’s
website on Monday…While Hall could not reveal how many custom Collins
jerseys were sold, he said that the team’s general merchandise sales and
online traffic spiked following Collins’ announcement.

I never knew that the “98” was a tribute to Matthew Shepard. Even Judy Shepard was not aware of the tribute to her gay son. 

The mother of a gay University of Wyoming
student who was robbed and beaten to death in 1998 says she finds it
touching that NBA veteran Jason Collins honored her son by wearing
jersey No. 98.

Matthew Shepard’s mother, Judy, said that she
hadn’t known about the tribute by Collins, who this week became the
first player still active in one of the four major U.S. professional
sports leagues to announce that he is gay.

“We’re very touched that he regards Matthew as
somebody special,” Judy Shepard said in a telephone interview. “We’re
especially happy that now he feels free to be himself. We’re happy for
him, relieved that his news is being received so well across the board.”

While Collins hid his sexual orientation up
until now, he said he quietly made a statement for gay rights by wearing
No. 98 with the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards. The number refers to 1998, the year Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and beaten
outside Laramie.