A's to honor first openly gay MLB player, Oakland native Glenn Burke

Contents:

• CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: THE ONLY MLB TEAM WH PLAYERS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY
• DODGERS HAVE HAD MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL’S ONLY 2 OPENLY GAY PLAYERS

CELEBRATG LGBTQ SPORTS HISTORY: THE ONLY MLB TEAM WH PLAYERS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY

Today, as the Los Angel Dodgers prepare to play the World Seri agast the Tampa Bay Rays, -founr Jim Buzski remds that the Dodgers anchise is a part of LGBTQ sports history as havg the only two MLB players who ever were public about beg gay. Dodgers have had Major League Baseball’s only 2 openly gay players. In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been only two players who have e out as gay: Glenn Burke and Billy Bean.

Burke, while never publicly out wh the media while playg, did nothg to hi the fact to his teammat that he was gay. Not a “Hey world, I’m gay” way, but the sense that his teammat knew as did the management of the Los Angel Dodgers, Burke’s first team. ” A memorable moment “Out” occurs when is relled that the Dodgers — tryg to stifle mors that a popular player was gay — offered Burke $75, 000 to get married.

DODGERS HAVE HAD MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL’S ONLY 2 OPENLY GAY PLAYERS

The Dodgers and their manager, Tom Lasorda, prented a versn of themselv as a clean-cut, All-Amerin team and a flamboyantly gay player uld not be tolerated, pecially one who hung out wh Lasorda’s gay son. (“Spunky’), himself a gay man and the son of the team’s manager, Tommy Lasorda.

“Spunky” Lasorda later died of AIDS and his father shamefully never acknowledged that his son was gay.