Fansided

Dale Scott Comes Out As First Openly Gay MLB Umpire

By Hayden Kane

Sep 19, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Home plate umpire Dale Scott (5) calls a strike in the first inning of game between the Cleveland Indians and the Houston Astros at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 19, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Home plate umpire Dale Scott (5) calls a strike in the first inning of game between the Cleveland Indians and the Houston Astros at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Longtime Major League Baseball umpire Dale Scott recently came out as the first openly gay umpire.

Dale Scott has been in Major League Baseball for 29 years, but many people probably had no idea who he was. His name is about to become a lot more familiar for a reason that has nothing to do with his work on the field.

More from MLB

Dale Scott has come out as the first openly gay umpire.

It started with a magazine profile of Scott’s career in Referee Magazine. As part of the article, Scott sent a picture of himself and his husband Michael, referred to in the article as Scott’s longtime companion. That opened the door for Scott to come out in a recent interview.

Scott summarized his decision to come out in an interview with Outsports:

"“Obviously, when I sent that picture to Jeff, I knew exactly what it meant. In a small way, this was opening that door in a publication that wasn’t going to be circulated nationwide. It could be picked up, but it’s not Time magazine. I made that decision to go ahead and do it because I felt it was the right thing to do.“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.”"

Scott married his husband in November.

As much as people sometimes want to receive this information about sports figures coming out on their terms, it is ultimately up to each individual to decide for themselves. That is what Dale Scott did here, and more power to him for handling this announcement the way that was right for him.

h/t Deadspin

h/t Outsports

More from FanSided

Home/MLB