good night. >> tonight on "unguarded with rachel nichols," unprecedented. jason collins, the first openly gay athlete in major men's sports. in his first sitdown interview since signing with the nets. >> it's nice to have a positive impact on someone else's life. >> uncatchable. nascar's most popular driver, dale earnhardt jr. fresh off winning his second daytona 500. >> when i won in 2004, i didn't realize what it was worth. so now i get it. >> unforgettable, rachel recalls the amazing stories and characters she covered during the sochi olympics. >> the first thing i saw was this giant cutout of my daughter's face. so it was pretty cool. ♪

>> welcome to "unguarded." it's been quite a week. remarkable because openly gay college football player michael sam worked out at the nfl combine. remarkable because jason collins signed with the nets, becoming the first openly gay player in any of the four major men's sports. but perhaps the most remarkable, just two days after collins signed, his number, 98, had become the nba's top selling jersey, beating out those belonging to lebron james, kobe bryant. in his first sitdown since rejoining the league, he told me now he can be what he's always wanted, just another basketball player. >> and jason collins will take the floor. >> so welcome back to the nba. what have these past few days felt like for you? >> it feels great. the last time i played in an nba game was last april.

trying to get that timing back and it comes down to when in doubt, go hit somebody. >> that's what a big man should do. >> exactly. >> you had a great line when you first came out. you staid i've been showering in the nba for 12 years. clearly it hasn't killed nibble. you're back in the training room now. noticed anything different? >> no, it's the same environment. 12 years in the nba, not a problem, not an issue. year 13, same old same old. >> we've seen you out in the public, most notably at the state of the union address as a guest of michelle obama. what has it been like? >> incredible. i've grown so much as an individual. i've come across so many great organizations, heard so many great stories, inspiring stories. it's nice to have a positive impact on someone else's life.

>> do you feel that you're inspiring some people out there? have you heard good things? >> yes, i definitely have. i met some other athletes who are sort of in the same position as i am, and we're sort of like a fraternity just trying to help each other, just trying to keep inspiring each other, whether it be michael sam or the list goes on and on of so many great athletes i've met along my journey. it's really great to hear each other's stories. >> there are so many kids and adults out there who are struggling to integrate who they are with the world around them and work and school and everything they have to be. and seeing you get to integrate who you really are, with your work and being who you are as a basketball player, that has been huge. >> anything's possible.

you continue to work hard. that's what i did over the past ten months, in addition to doing all the fun, exciting things is the day before the state of the union, i ran five miles on a trail run. so it's always about continuing to train and work hard and always having that positive mindset that good things will happen if you, you know, prepare for it. >> you're wearing number 98 -- >> yes. >> for matthew sheppard, the college student that was tied to a fence post, beaten, tortured and killed in 1998. now you're celebrating his life with that number. and that jersey has become the top selling jersey in the nba this week. what does that mean to you? >> it's really cool to see the support that's out there. yeah, it's cool to see that people are going out there and buying the jersey and wearing it

with pride. so i hope that continues and i'll keep wearing a jersey, keep going out there and trying to do my job. >> we're here in denver and matthew sheppard's family lives in wyoming. but they drove here to denver to come see you, to meet you. what is special about getting to share some time with them? >> i was very fortunate to speak with matthew's mother, judy, last spring. she had some great advice. i don't think she would mind me sharing. typically i don't share what people say, because i like to keep my conversations private. but her message was, let the haters hate, just keep living your life and keep going out there and being yourself. >> you're now in a ten-day contract with the nets. the expectation is they might sign you for the rest of the year. how do you feel it's going so far? >> i hope so.

it's a process, and it's something i can't focus on right now. i worry about wins and losses and trying to make my teammate's job easier, do what a big man is supposed to do. but i'm having fun the whole time. back in the nba is awesome. >> jason collins knocks down another one. >> jason collins making history. but certainly having a good time doing it, as well. very special. we'll have a lot more on tonight's "unguarded." you are not going to want to miss this. even folks that don't like racing loved watching dale earnhardt jr. win the daytona 500. coming up, earnhardt reveals the doubts he had on his way to victory lane. >> there was a time in 2009, 2010 where people were giving up on me. video. so i got the new nokia lumia icon. it's got 1080p video, three times zoom, and a twenty-megapixel sensor. it's got the brightest display, so i can see what i'm shooting -- even outdoors,

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i'm rachel nichols. welcome backing to "unguarded." dale earnhardt jr. has been voted the most popular driver in nascar for an unbelievable 11 years in a row. but that doesn't mean things have been easy, being the son of one of the most legendary drivers in the sport. after winning the daytona 500 this past sunday, the super bowl of nascar, he sat down with me to discuss how he's finally figured out to be his own man. >> it's over. it's earnhardt! >> dale jr. captures the flag. >> you called this the raise of your life. you won this race ten years ago, but why was this the best record you've ever had? >> something about everything that's happened since then, the goods, the bads, the ups and downs. all of the trials and dark depths of struggles.

there was a time in 2009, 2010 where people were giving up on me. the sport was giving up on me. i felt like i was losing, you know, my grasp on being competitive. when i won in 2004, i was young. the whole moment just flew by and i didn't realize what it was worth. so now i get it. >> it was tough. you had more than a seven-year stretch where you had two wins. but even when you weren't winning on the track, you were voted the most popular driver in nascar again and again. what did that dichotomy feel like? >> it was difficult, because you heard criticism, the most popular driver is also the most overrated driver and you got called overrated a lot. i had an inner struggle with it, because i was winning this award, and getting this praise from my fans, but i wasn't delivering. i was giving them disappointment

week after week and not living up to their expectations or mine. so that was very challenging. >> thank you, dale. >> the popularity thing is super overwhelming. that and my legacy and heritage, the earnhardt name. i gained a ton of fans before i ever drove a car. and that didn't feel right. but maybe they were banking on me doing something, making something of myself. >> you grew up to a degree in the public eye, but i hear you were hard to get to know as a kid. what were you like? >> just real quiet. i didn't speak to people unless i was spoken to. i'm not much on small talk any ways. >> your sister says you were the one taking risks or being in cars or any of that stuff. >> yeah, i was scared to drive the go-cart for the first time or ride the bike for the first time. i definitely didn't react the way my dad expected me to react in those situations.

we had a disconnected relationship for so many years because of my shyness and my, you know, i was very quiet and not very outgoing. i didn't play much sports. >> was he encouraging you to go into racing? >> he did. it was a specific day, me and my brother were hanging out together and dad said you two guys need to get involved in this. he was so busy with his own life, he just didn't have any interest in what we were doing, and he said you need to check this out. >> was it exciting to feel like he was taking an interest in you? >> yeah, it was. and it was exciting that he was going to help us. >> when you started up the circuit and up the chain, you were racing together in nascar at one point. was he very encouraging of you? >> it was perfect. our relationship, i couldn't make heads or tails of our relationship until i started driving, especially when i got

into the nationwide car and won races, we clicked. for the first time when i would talk to him, we would have conversations. before, it was always one way. i was listening, he was talking. and eventually he started listening to me, because i was doing things right. >> did you worry that you wouldn't be good enough? >> yeah, i had ulcers when i was young just worrying trying to race and how i was going to race and how that was going to happen. i was having problems with my stomach and going to the doctors. i eventually just decided that i wasn't going to measure up to that. i'm not going to try to be like him. i'm going to be genuine to myself and i'm going to enjoy what i'm doing. >> amazing to see some of those images of father and son together. but of course, the most striking images are yet to come. dale jr. was on the track when his father lost his life. the very same track where he had

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i'm rachel nichols. welcome back to "unguarded." even 13 years later, dale senior's death looms over nascar and his son. i dad dale jr. how he's coped, especially as he's tried to turn those very same miles of asphalt from a place of tragedy to a place of triumph. >> we appreciate everybody's support and it's a tough time. >> it's hard to thinkable you at daytona without thinking about him crashing there. that image of you running to try

to get to him no son should have to go through that. >> you know, that's a memory that i can't help but not think about it. i think about it, and i'm comfortable thinking about it. i'm comfortable with how things went down. i believe that things happen for a reason, and that was his -- that was his deal. that was his time. as upset as i was, you know, how am i going to live without my daddy? what am i going to do? how am i going to make these decisions? i stopped and i said, i've got to feel lucky that he's put me in this position that i'm in. >> you got in the car next week. how did you get into a racecar after that? >> you don't know whether you are feeling right or wrong, and it's hard to make sense of it. but we had a three-car race team, and dad would have been really upset if we hadn't went

to the racetrack. racing is what we do. his company depended on us surviving. >> you are actually a team owner in nascar's nationwide series. you are the one that brought danica patrick into the world of nascar. danica has gotten a lot of criticism. richard petty said the only way she could win a race is if nobody else is on the track. what do you think when you hear something like that? >> that's obviously a harsh statement by any stretch. >> nobody would ever say that about a male driver. >> exactly. you just sit there and say, what's the point? even if that's your feeling, why say it? she goes by a different set of rules and it's unfortunate. i feel for how hard she has it. but at the same time she doesn't want anybody to feel for her. she doesn't want any pity and she'll let you know that.

she's very, very, very tough. she can -- as rough as the road is for her, she can handle it. >> and your 13-year-old niece is tearing it up in the mini series. she's really good. >> she wins a lot of races and she races with the boys and beats them on a regular basis. she's fiery, and danica is her favorite driver. she would rather danica win the daytona 500 than me. so that's the power of danica patrick. >> you have all kinds of national commercials and sponsorships and the national guard and that relationship has gone great, but it's fallen under criticism. there was a move in congress to cut off that sponsorship. >> this year they're paying mr. earnhardt $26. 5 million. the program is a waste of taxpayer money. it doesn't work. >> i know our relationship with the guard works to boost recruiting. >> they want to connect to these fans that connect to you. >> they do.

and you get to meet all these people that are in the military and you get to share their stories with them. you get a connection and you get a passion for it and when someone is telling you that they question the reasoning behind the relationship, you definitely want to stand up for it, for what it's worth. i get very passionate about it. >> you started out when you were born with this name and almost this predestiny of who you were going to be. it seems since then, you're been clearing out who you want to be. do you feel good now? >> i feel great about what i'm doing and the decisions i'm making, the direction i'm headed, the people i'm spending my time with. it all makes a lot of sense right now. >> that is always nice to see. now comfortable being liked for who he is. it's been a busy week for "unguarded," but you've got to stick around and see everything we were up to while the show was on break for the olympics,

include thing revelation from america's new sweet hearts on ice. the story is you were so shy as a kid you couldn't look at him. >> i grew out of that, not so quickly, but eventually. this is the first power plant in the country to combine solar and natural gas at the same location. during the day, we generate as much electricity as we can using solar. at night and when it's cloudy, we use more natural gas. this ensures we can produce clean electricity whenever our customers need it. ♪

welcome back. i'm rachel nichols. there were a lot of subjects in the winter olympics. of course, the sochi problems, a running series of comical hospitality miscues. but as always, the stories that trumped them all belonged to the athletes. and i was thrilled to be there with them. ♪ you're not the hard core athlete type that we're used to seeing. >> yeah, that's the beauty of snowboarding. you don't have to be some mega athlete, like work out all the time. >> most people know what gnarly means. but i need some more of the sage

dictionary. >> first and foremost, we have spice. >> what does that mean? >> anything you want it mean. you can be like oh, you're spice. oh, that chick was spicy, man. >> you had a pretty emotional interview with kristen cooper, got a lot of controversy in the state afterward. >> i was really surprised. i felt like it was me, not her and i felt material that she was getting massacred in the press. it was more me dealing with all these emotions and the buildup of several years of very tough, you know, personal life stuff. >> there's a lot of people outside of skiing that don't know your brother's story. he had a motorcycle crash, how long ago was it? >> in 2006. >> and when he had the seizure and died from that, did that make you rethink coming to the olympics? >> it didn't change my feelings about the olympics at all. it probably made the difference

in me getting a metal or not. >> when you heard there were stray dogs around here, what was that like when you heard the stories? >> i heard they were rounding them up and exterminating them. i wasn't planning on coming here and being an animal activist. just try to bring these animals home. ♪ >> you were so shy as a kid you wouldn't really look at him. your coach had to put a star on your forehead? >> we were both very shy kids, so he put it on hi forehead so she didn't have to look at my eyes. she could just focus on that. >> i grew out of that. not so quickly, but eventually. ♪

>> you were the only person at this olympics that i've seen so far greeted by giant heads of a baby. >> unfortunately, my daughter wasn't able to make it out here. >> she's 2 1/2. >> she's 2 1/2. the first thing i saw when i landed was this giant cutout of my daughter's face. people wrote me off when they found out i was having a kid. i'm young -- >> you're 23? >> yeah, 23. that's the end of his competitive career, but for me it created this balance in my life. ♪ a bunch of people you might not have heard a month ago, creating some of the most spectacular moments you have ever seen. what a ride. that's it for us this week. but you can follow me on twitter, like us on facebook or visit us on the web at cnn.com/unguarded.

we'll see you back here next week on "unguarded" where the end of the game is just the start of the story. start of the story. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ west memphis police discovered the bodies of three 8-year-old boys in a drainage ditch. >> autopsies showed they died from blows to the head. >> a horrific crime. three young boys murdered. >> at 9:00 that night i knew that i would never see him alive again. >> three teenage boys suspected. >> i wanted to bash their head up against the wall, kick their face in. >> three teens demonized. >> that was the first thing that everybody started saying, that it was a ritualistic killing, satanic killing. >> three teens, convicted.