Eric Bach is an openly gay broadster for the Frericksburg Natnals. He has major league aspiratns, but his path has been much lonelier than he would prefer.
Contents:
- 'IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME FOR THIS:' BRYAN RUBY BE ONLY ACTIVE PRO BASEBALL PLAYER TO BE OUT AS GAY
- 9 BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO CAME OUT AS GAY
'IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME FOR THIS:' BRYAN RUBY BE ONLY ACTIVE PRO BASEBALL PLAYER TO BE OUT AS GAY
In major league baseball only two players have publicly me out as gay other than that few of mor league players have done so. * can you be gay and play baseball *
In his 1990 tobgraphy, “Behd the Mask: My Double Life Baseball, ” Dave Pallone, a gay major league umpire who was quietly fired 1988 after mors about his sexual orientatn circulated the baseball world, ntend that there were enough gay major league players to create an All-Star team. Sce then, attus and laws about homosexualy have changed. And is baseball ready for s gay Jackie Robson?
“I thk we’re gettg close, ” Billy Bean, the only openly gay former major league player alive today, recently told me. Bean played for the Detro Tigers, Los Angel Dodgers and San Diego Padr for parts of six seasons, hidg his homosexualy om his iends, fans and teammat at great emotnal st. He me out publicly 1982 an Insi Sports article, “The Double Life of a Gay Dodger.
9 BASEBALL PLAYERS WHO CAME OUT AS GAY
“It’s harr to be gay sports than anywhere else, except maybe print, ” said Burke. A lgerg sta of homophobia. There is a strong current of fundamentalist Christiany wh baseball, which uld make life unfortable for openly gay players.
There are also lgerg strands of explic homophobia.
In 2012, Detro Tigers outfielr Torii Hunter told the Los Angel Tim that he’d be unfortable wh a gay teammate, bee “biblilly, ’s not right. Other MLB players have ma homophobic ments over the years, cludg John Rocker, Julian Tavarez, Yunel Esbar, Daniel Murphy and Todd Jon, along wh manager Ozzie Guillen. Billie Jean Kg, the former tennis star who, 1981, beme the first openly gay high-profile sports figure, is now part-owner of the Dodgers.