Minor leaguer becomes first openly gay player in MLB-affiliated ball
theGRIO REPORT - David Denson has just come out as gay, making him the first openly gay player in MLB-affiliated baseball.
David Denson has just come out as gay, making him the first openly gay player in MLB-affiliated baseball.
According to a story published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Denson had been wanting to come out to his teammates for some time, but he could not find the right moment until one of his teammates jokingly referred to him by a profane and derogatory term used against gay men.
Denson, sensing the opportunity, just smiled at his teammate and said, “Be careful what you say. You never know.”
#Brewers @progressive_pro pic.twitter.com/6TNiCe3RK4
— David Denson (@_DavidD_41) September 2, 2013
That moment sparked the 20-year-old, and he eventually gathered most of the team and talked to them about his sexual orientation. Rather than being greeted with derision, however, he was relieved to find that he was surrounded by support.
Denson, a 15th-round pick in 2013 out of South Hills High School in West Covina, California, currently plays in Helena, Montana for a Milwaukee Brewers’ team in the rookie-level Pioneer League.
Read more from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel here.
