The Major League clubhouse is a room of sweat and sacrifice, of dreams and dedication. A room where players at the peak of their professional powers brace and bond and scheme and shower. Entering this room can be intimidating for an outsider, especially if your mission is to stand in the center, with all eyes fixed upon you, and say to these men the words that were once unthinkable -- or at least unspeakable -- in these confines. "I'm gay," Billy Bean says in the midst of a more complete sentence. But it's those two words that cause those who didn't know his story to suddenly sit more upright and listen more intently.
There is no doubt that in the public world of entertainment, LGBTQ+ individuals can feel intense pressure to remain closeted. Billy Bean’s experience is tragic. The dream of becoming a professional baseball player in the major leagues requires personal sacrifice from players who don’t feel like they have to hide themselves. What Billy had to do was beyond what anyone should ever have to.
But at no point was he required by legally-binding contracts to closet himself. Yes, the culture of the game and the clubhouse and society effectively required it of him, but the law? No. And that was in the 80′s and 90′s! Do they conspiracy theorists expect us to believe that since 1995, the law has come to be used in this way? When I can go to a baseball game and see it on the big screen that derogatory language directed at someone (fan, player, umpire, coach) because of their sexual preference* is grounds for being removed from the ballpark?
I do understand that some of these conspiracy theorists must live in repressive locales, where they don’t feel comfortable coming out due to real dangers to their person, or threats to their livelihood. I understand this, believe me. But Louis Tomlinson is not you. Harry Styles is not you. There aren’t contracts binding either or both of them into remaining in the closet against their will.
Stop cheapening the very real experience of closeted entertainers with your shitty and heartless conspiracy theories.
*they’re definitely using the wrong word but THIS IS PROGRESS I’ll accept it