It’s another good week for coming out in sports.
Dale Scott has been an umpire in major league baseball for thirty years, and has officially become the first ump to come out publicly.
He told OutSports:
“I realized that it could open a Pandora’s Box, but this is not a surprise to Major League Baseball, the people I work for. It’s not a surprise to the umpire staff. Until Mike and I got married last November, he was my same-sex domestic partner and had his own MLB I.D. and was on my insurance policy.
This is not going to be some huge flashing news to Park Avenue [MLB headquarters], but I also didn’t want to be making some coming out story, some banner headline, because that’s not how I operate. It’s not a shock to MLB management because they’re well aware of my situation and it’s not a shock to the umpire staff. If it would have been, I don’t think I would have done it.”
And in a double-whammy eye opener, we found out that not only does Australia have a bobsledding team (do we sense a Cool Running spinoff in the works?), but it now has a gay player by the name of Simon Dunn.
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He told SameSame:
“I love competing in bobsleigh. The adrenaline rush. Using my strengths from rugby and excelling in a different sport. I love representing my country. And I’m also proud of the fact that I’m the first out gay man in the sport to do so!”
Congrats to you both! Now play ball, or ice tube or whatever.
More sports stories on Queerty:
PHOTOS: Homoerotic Athletes Give Us A Reason To Watch Sports
Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall Of Fame Unveils Inductees Tonight
Super Bowl Champ Brendon Ayanbadejo Calls For End Of Homophobia In Pro Sports
IvanPH
Waiting for comments from fairies whining about how they are not gay enough because they look masculine and even like sports.
Caliban
@IvanPH: So you’re going to be a preemptive crybaby about comments that haven’t even happened and might never happen?
jwtraveler
What? An Australian bobsledder? Cool runnings, mate.