Baseball player David Denson comes out as gay
Baseball player David Denson has come out as gay – becoming the first out active player in an affiliated league.
The Milwaukee Brewers prospect, who was a 15th-round pick by the Brewers back in 2013, came out in an interview with the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
He told the local newspaper: “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.’
“That was a giant relief for me. I never wanted to feel like I was forcing it on them. It just happened. The outcome was amazing. It was nice to know my teammates see me for who I am, not my sexuality.”
He added: “Coming out to my father was even harder than coming out to my teammates, because I knew how he felt about it. He grew up in sports, and I heard him talk (in derogatory fashion) about gay guys. That was hard for me to hear at the time.”
The player continued: “[My parents] were afraid I’d be judged. They jumped right into the stereotype. No parents want to see their child discriminated against and talked about and put down.
“I don’t question that they love me. They never said they were upset about me being gay.
“It was harder on my dad than my mum. He’s a very hard-core Christian and he goes off the Bible and all that, which I completely understand, growing up in the church. I’m a Christian myself.”
Denson will be the first player to come out while still active in an affiliated league.
Two former Major League players, Glenn Burke and Billy Bean, have already come out – but only after retiring from the sport.
It comes on the same weekend that Rugby League also got its first openly gay player, over in the UK.
