#BornThisDay: Out Athlete, Billy Bean

March 29, 1964– Billy Bean:

“I can only imagine what it must be like to be a fugitive. I felt like it was tattooed on my forehead… I had to put up this strong demeanor, because no one was going to interfere with my career.”

Bean is one of only two former major league baseball players to publicly acknowledge his gayness. The other was Glenn Burke in 1979.

He is a friend of mine and we have several things in common; we both attended Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, and we both are owned by Jack Russell Terriers. I, on the other hand, cannot play ball. I don’t like to play any sports where balls are flying swiftly towards me.

Bean was a top athlete in high school and at LMU. He graduated from our alma mater with a degree in Business Administration.

In 1986, Bean was signed as a fourth-round pick in the draft by the Detroit Tigers. In 1987, he played 26 games with the pennant-winning Tigers as an outfielder. He played in the major leagues during the 1987-1989 seasons, but then not again until 1993.

In 1989, he married a woman, but it lasted only a few years.

In 1992, Bean played for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, and the signed with the California Angels and then the Edmonton Trappers.

He had the most time on the field in 1993 and 1994, getting around 300 at-bats with the San Diego Padres as the fourth outfielder and occasionally as a first baseman.

But in 1995, he fell into a depression after struggling with the death of his partner and not being able to talk to anyone about it. It would be his last year playing Major League Baseball. Bean:

“I had never come out to my family, I was living a very secretive, dark life. My partner died of HIV-related causes on the eve of what was my last season.”

Bean finally came out of the closet in an article in the NY Times in 1999. After the feature was published, some of his fellow players stated that they felt okay about his coming out, but most of them said they would not want a gay teammate. His former manager Jim Riggleman said: “He was such a good guy that I think it would have been all right with the club.”

Things seem to be a bit better in Major League baseball. Last year, Bean was named MLB’s Vice-President For Social Responsibility And Inclusion. In January, he was given the additional title of Special Assistant to Commissioner Rob Manfred and was put in charge of MLB’s anti-bullying efforts. In the past two years, Bean has talked to all 30 MLB ownership groups, plus the staff and players about struggling with his sexuality during his career and about LGBT inclusion in the workplace.

Bean:

“The message is everyone is welcome that walks through the turnstiles to watch us play baseball. The LGBT community is part of every community.”

The Mets general manager, Sandy Alderson, approached Bean after he heard him speak in 2014. Now Bean is a part of spring training, talking with the players and throwing batting practice, and coaching outfielders.

The Mets were the first among the four NY men’s major professional sports teams to host Pride Nights as part of their seasons. Now there are ten teams around the country to do it: Philadelphia, Chicago Cubs, Boston, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Part of the Met’s ticket sales on those Pride Nights go to the LGBT Network, which promotes anti-bullying programs. Bean says the Mets are sending “a great message not only to their fans, but for all of baseball.”

Bean says his job is to help young players from all backgrounds and cultures to understand workplace decorum. Bean:

“They’re world class baseball players, and they haven’t had time to learn all the ways of the world. We really prioritize messaging on life skills, domestic violence awareness and counseling about relationships. The inclusive conversation is a wonderful part of that comprehensive message.”

Bean says that those boys-will-be boys locker comments that have been around forever will take time and education to reduce:

“It used to be acceptable to be disparaging. When guys are ragging other guys, they feminize them. The comments were sexist as much as they were homophobic.”

Bean’s former teammate Brad Ausmus, currently the Detroit Tigers manager has stated that:

“Things might have changed if Bean would have just told me. I would have said, ‘Don’t stop playing or just tell your parents or don’t tell your parents, just talk to us.”

Bean:

“I didn’t realize there was a place for me in this world, and I didn’t even trust the people that loved me the most… my own family.”

In 2015, Milwaukee Brewers first baseman David Denson became the first active player. Denson called Bean beforehand. Bean:

“We made sure his parents were in the loop. I was surprised the day he did it. He texted me and said ‘You won’t believe what I just did.”

Bean says that he isn’t trying to get players to reveal their sexuality, but to provide a better work environment.

But, right now, there are no out active players in the NBA, NFL, NHL or MLB. And it is still not easy. Daniel Murphy, a former Met, and a Christian, has been outspoken about how he is against the gay “lifestyle” after Bean spoke to the team in spring 2015. Bean also points out that racism didn’t end in 1947 when Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Bean has been an active member of the Human Rights Campaign and has spent much of his time speaking to university campuses in an attempt to make athletics a safer place for gay athletes.

The MLB Network aired a documentary in 2015: MLB Network Presents: Billy Bean that tells his life story, while somehow leaving out details of our friendship. That same year, bean was named the Male Hero Of The Year by Outsports.

Bean: