#billy bean

[spankerella]

@ goodgoodgoodco

[100gayicons]

UPDATE

I first posted about Billy Bean on January 21, 2021. He was one of the first professional baseball players to come out of the closet. He devoted his life to advocating for Gay Rights, and to help other players struggling to come out. He later became the league's senior vice president for diversity, equality, and inclusion.

I was sorry to learn Bean passed away in 2024 from leukemia. I want to share some additional details of his life with this new post.

At the time he came out, Bean said:

“In the history of baseball, there have been only two players who have disclosed, and we just had our 20,000th player. Two out of 20,000 tells you that it’s not the easiest culture to crack.”

In 2003, he wrote his autobiography, “Going the Other Way.”

“This book is not a sad story about a victim of homophobia or baseball mistreating me. It's about what it's like to live in the closet and to try to realize a dream under those restrictions."

Reflecting on his childhood:

"I've always been gay. I was gay since birth, and I just knew that there was something different about me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it until I think it was 13 years old… I always had a girlfriend from, like, (from) the age of 14."

In 1993, two years after getting married, Bean met Sam Madani at a cowboy-themed gay bar. They quickly began a sexual relationship. Admirably, Bean decided the situation was unfair to his wife, and he asked for a divorce.

Bean and Madani moved in together, but since he was still an active player, they had to keep their living arrangement secret from his teammates. Bean recounted an incident where two of his Padres teammates dropped by his apartment unannounced. Madani had to sneak away until the players left. But in 1994, when Bean hosted a Super Bowl party for friends and family, Madani attended as "just a buddy".

On April 23, 1995, Madani, who had recently been diagnosed with AIDS, died of a cardiac arrest from AIDS-related complications. Because their relationship was such a secret, Bean did not attend Madani’s public funeral.

Because of the stress and grieving for Madani, Bean decided to retire after the 1995 MLB season. After coming out to as gay to his parents and friends, Bean came out to the public in a 1999 Miami Herald interview.

Billy resettled in Miami Beach, where he had a 13-year relationship with Efrain Veiga. They broke up in July 2008.

Bean was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia in 2023. He died at his home in New York City on August 6, 2024, at the age of 60. At the time of his death, Bean was married to Greg Baker, a doctor in Manchester, New Hampshire.

This 2004 quote by Billy Bean is a fitting statement to end this post.

"I think I am the living embodiment of the idea that you never know how life is going to turn out. I am here because I want to be a voice for people who want to come out, but may not be able to do it yet. Every waking minute of my life was a calculated attempt to protect people from knowing this huge secret about me. I think baseball is unfortunately going to be one of the last places where athletes can come out without fear of huge ramifications," he said. "But to say I can't be gay and a great center fielder at the same time is discriminatory and just not true."

[gayseball]

Crayon Billy Bean

[serotonin-up]

May I offer y’all a cute photo of some sleeping weasels in these difficult times?

[prismnpen]

Queer Sports History: Remembering Two Trailblazing Gay Baseball Players

An unknown number of athletes remain closeted, due to pervasive homophobia in men’s sports

When Billy Bean came out as gay in 1995, he was only the second major league baseball player to do so in the lengthy history of “America’s favorite pastime.” Sadly, in August of this year, Bean died from acute myeloid leukemia. He was just 60.

After retiring from his playing career, Bean served as Major League Baseball’s “Ambassador of Inclusion,” before becoming the organization’s first and only (so far) Senior VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

In the wake of Bean’s untimely passing, I can’t help but think about how rare it’s been historically in the exclusive world of professional sports — and, evidently, how unusual it still is — for queer male athletes to be open and transparent about their sexual orientation.

[theglitchywriterboi]

New Subway Surfers character intro !!! Cool !!! But... Wait

He's a veggie burger.... Cool - not the first non-human character in Subway Surfers ^_^ But...

Um...

What mischief are you getting up to Billy Bean ?!

SUBWAY SURFERS FIRST CANON CANNIBAL *NOT CLICKBAIT*

[myownsportsblog]

Thank you Billy Bean

Billy Bean (not Beane) was a professional baseball player. who played for the Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres and LA Dodgers. Much like the Billy Beane of "Moneyball" fame his playing career wasn't memorable. Of course the other Billy Beane became a top level executive known for building winning teams without much of a payroll. Billy Bean on the other hand became better known after his career was over however for a different reason.

After Billy Bean retired, he became the second player in baseball history to "Come Out". This was during the 1990s when there was more hate towards the LGBTQ+ Community as there is now. In recent years he became involved with Major League Baseball to help make the game more inclusive. I know there are fans that are against "Pride Nights" in general however I'm going to try to avoid any further mention as I don't want to go into politics. I will mention that every MLB team including the Yankees has had one at some point.

As a member of the LGBTQ+ Community, I've always believed that people should come out on their own terms. With that said and I know it sounds hypocritical however it would be nice to see some active pro players come out, especially to inspire those young athlete's that would like to play professional sports that are still in the closet. In the past both Jason Collins and Carl Nassib came out while they were still playing and a couple of MLS players came out while they were still in the league. Michael Sam came out in College and was the first gay player to be drafted however he didn't make the team. I hope one day that changes even if it's in the spirit of Billy Bean. May he rest in peace.

[drag-tween]

MLB exec Billy Bean, former major leaguer and advocate for LGBTQ inclusion, dies at 60

Bean was hired by former commissioner Bud Selig in part to confront the homophobia that persisted in MLB clubhouses