First Gay MLB Umpire Came Out and the Crowd Went Mild - The Sports Daily

first gay umpire

Jaguars assistant Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's pro sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer.

Contents:

‘DALE, WE KNOW YOU’RE GAY. WE DON’T RE.’ HOW A MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE ME OUT

Former MLB umpire Dale Stt, an excerpt om his new book, reunts how he me out as gay baseball first and then the world. * first gay umpire *

Stt me out as gay 2014.

The first time any of my lleagu said anythg to me about beg gay was durg sprg trag ’98 or ’99. Dale, we know you’re gay.

MLB UMPIRE DALE STT RETIR, SAYS G OUT AS GAY UNBURNED HIM

In 2014, Dale Stt beme the first active Major League Baseball umpire to e out as gay. He’s sce retired after umpirg for 32 years the majors. * first gay umpire *

For one thg, they had a stereotypil ia their md of what a gay person is like.

There were a hundred thgs sayg, Dale’s gay. “Dale Stt recently beme the first Major League umpire to e out as gay.

THE FIRST OPENLY GAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL UMPIRE REFLECTS ON G OUT, COORS FIELD AND THE ‘ROBO-UMPIRE’

* first gay umpire *

I told all three the same thg: I’m still gay. Bs as ual, never heard anythg om the stands about beg gay. In a perfect world, everyone gay would e out and blow away the stereotyp and prenceived notns of who, what, and how many we are.

Are there gay umpir workg Major League Baseball right now? Are there gay players? I heard om police officers, firemen, members of the ary, mothers, fathers, om those who were straight, gay, bi, out, closeted.

Of the hundreds of msag and ments, lerally two were hateful or homophobic. Closeted gay ach, police and fire personnel, teachers, and many others said this took them another step closer to walkg through that closet door. Bee I want to be known not as “that gay umpire” but, stead, jt as an umpire who happens to be gay.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

In reuntg how he me out as gay while still an active MLB umpire, Dale Stt is easy to root for. * first gay umpire *

I wonred how thgs would have been different if I’d had an umpire to look up to, a role mol dog what I was strivg to do and who, oh by the way, happened to be gay? Jt a few months earlier December 2014, a story on Outsports, Stt had discsed for the first time beg an openly gay umpire, the first the sport’s history.

"I didn't really thk about this or expect this, ” Stt told Outsports this week, “but when I walked onto the field for the first time sprg trag and throughout the season [as an openly gay man], there were tim when I thought there was a burn lifted off of my shoulrs and that I'm totally a ee man now. He is leavg wh no regrets and is pecially glad that he cid to e out publicly as gay before retirg. His boss at MLB and fellow umpir knew he was gay for years and never negatively affected his reer.

But by gog public, he was able to spire others, both and out of baseball, who never would have known that MLB had a gay umpire and that was a non-issue.

MLB'S FIRST GAY UMPIRE IGNORED ON OPENG DAY AND THAT'S HOW SHOULD BE

Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach a US men’s profsnal sports league to e out as gay. * first gay umpire *

One person who reached out was an assistant traer for an MLB team who is gay but not out to his team. “I don't thk the first thg fans are thkg is that's the gay guy that ma that ll. Any mentns the media of him beg gay were always ntext.

"Bob Costas mentned was Pri night and mentned nonchalantly, 'Oh by the way, the home plate umpire is Dale Stt, a veteran umpire who me out as gay December. Billy Bean, a former player who is gay, was named the league’s first Ambassador for Incln and was given greater rponsibili this season.

DALE STT’S TOBGRAPHY AS AN OPENLY GAY MLB UMPIRE IS A WNER

“Before, if 40, 000 fans would have Googled me and found out I was the gay guy, that would have horrified me, ” he said. In 2014, Dale Stt beme the first active Major League Baseball umpire to e out as gay.

Stt was ducted to the Natnal Gay and Lbian Sports Hall of Fame 2015 and has sce wrten a memoir about his reer.

On the rponse he’s gotten om the gay muny after umpirg the majors for more than three s and penng a memoir “The Umpire is Out: Callg the Game and Livg My Te Self”: SCOTT: The people I’ve talked to on this book tour, tellg me my story changed their life, my story gave them the urage to do this, or … this one lbian uple San Francis, she was, I gave her a big hug bee she said, “You don’t know how much hearg about you a game I love …” and that kd of stuff. And you were gay and you were out! But you know gays, we love to make an ex (lghs).

FIRST GAY MLB UMPIRE CAME OUT AND THE CROWD WENT MILD

-- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn. Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. Baseball celebrated s Openg Day today and for the first time, an openly gay umpire was on the field.

Beg an umpire is largely an anonymo job, and an openly gay player would have received far more attentn.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

In an ial world, we would have numero openly gay athlet and ach and they would jt be part of the landspe whout special notice. It's far om an ial environment for gays sports, but at least Stt's se was a posive se of "nothg to see here, move on. “The Umpire is Out” is many thgs: a retrospective of a 33-year major league reer, a reposory of numerable personal triumphs and on-field clash, and a unique perspective of what ’s like to e out as gay while still active Major League Baseball.

But jt as importantly, that se is jt as big the very next chapter when Stt reunts walkg to a Portland gay bar jt after movg out of his parents’ hoe and beg smten on first sight wh the man who would eventually bee his hband. The narrativ of Stt’s reer as a big league umpire and his life as a gay man keepg a secret om his workplace n parallel throughout the book.

For example, Stt vot a chapter to his profsnal stggl durg his sophomore MLB season and how they shook his nfince to the re. His tale of meetg wh a 17-year-old closeted umpire and spirg him to e out is so upliftg, feels straight out of a gay WP Ksella novel. Stt’s gracns at realizg he had bee an advertent role mol for gay sports fans and officials everywhere is so genue, mak you want to reply wh a hug emoji at the end of the chapter.

JAGUARS ASSISTANT STRENGTH AND NDNG ACH KEV MAXEN OUT PUBLICLY AS GAY

Earlier this week, while watchg Ken Burns’ Baseball on MLB Network, I noticed somethg the crawl at the bottom of the screen about “first openly gay umpire out.

Surely ’s a ttament to how far we’ve e as a society that news of a gay official a major sport failed to rock my world. Or maybe ’s a ttament to the fact that First Gay Umpire isn’t pecially high on most folks’ lists of social jtice acplishments.

Social acceptance of homosexualy the U.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* FIRST GAY UMPIRE

First Gay MLB Umpire Came Out and the Crowd Went Mild - The Sports Daily .

TOP