Milwaukee Brewers minor leaguer David Denson made history by coming out publicly as gay in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Saturday. He is the first active player in affiliated professional baseball to do so.
Denson told his family before coming out to his teammates and then the public. The first baseman said he believed the stress of keeping his sexuality a secret hurt his performance, and having his teammates' acceptance has been a huge relief:
Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them 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.' [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
In deciding when and how to come out, Denson enlisted the help of Billy Bean, a former ballplayer who was recently named MLB's first-ever ambassador for inclusion. Bean came out after his retirement. A Pacific Association player, Sean Conroy, came out as gay in June. The league is not affiliated with MLB.
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