Baseball Player Solomon Bates Comes Out
Solomon Bates, a former Giants Minor League Baseball pitcher, came out as gay in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“Being gay in this sport you don’t know what comes at you!” Bates wrote. “I thank the [G]iants for giving me the opportunity to be myself and go out there and play the game that I love the most.”
Bates is only the second Minor League player to come out. Former Brewers farmhand David Denson became the first in 2015. No active Major League player has come out as gay, though former players Billy Bean, now MLB’s senior vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and Glenn Burke both came out after their playing careers.
“Solomon has made a lasting and important impression on his teammates over the course of his college baseball and Minor League career,” said Bean. “I appreciate his decision and courage to share this part of his story with baseball and our fans.”
“I haven’t been out as my complete self because I’ve been hiding myself,” Bates told Outsports. “I’m a masculine man who loves the sport of baseball, and now I want to open up doors for gay athletes like me.”
On Instagram, hw wrote that he was “still in shock” over being let go in the midst of his fifth Minor League season. He vowed to find a new organization and continue to pursue his dream of reaching the Majors.
“Baseball I’m not done with you,” Bates wrote. “I’m leaving on my terms and my terms only. Gay men can play a manly sport if you give us a chance to.”
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