Another milestone for professional sport
Minor league baseball prospect David Denson has the first player affiliated with the major leagues to reveal he is gay.
The 20-year-old first baseman, who plays for the Milwaukee Brewers rookie team in Helena, Montana, decided to make an unplanned announcement to his team-mates after hearing one of them using a derogatory term for a gay person in the locker room.
“Be careful what you say. You never know,” Denson joked to the player, before gathering the team and letting them know.
Denson’s emotional speech was greeted with support from fellow players, and their reaction has helped him overcome the symptoms of depression.
“Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them,” Denson said.
“They said, ‘You’re still our teammate. You’re still our brother. We kind of had an idea, but your sexuality has nothing to do with your ability. You’re still a ballplayer at the end of the day. We don’t treat you any different. We’ve got your back.'”
Former NBA player Jason Collins became the first athlete in on America’s major professional leagues to announce that he is gay in 2013, while NFL prospect Michael Sam did the same and was subsequently drafted by the St Louis Rams.
[h/t Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel]
