Baseball Player Solomon Bates Comes Out As Gay
Professional baseball player Solomon Bates came out as gay in a post to Instagram on Tuesday.The 25-year-old pitcher, who had played for the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the San Francisco Giants Double-A minor league team before his recent release, said he made the announcement to show that gay men have a place in the sport.
Bates also confirmed to Cyd Ziegler of Outsports he had been out to his teammates since 2019.“I'm still going to open up doors for gay athletes like me.
Still will strive to be one of the greatest to do it,” Bates posted to Instagram following his release, later adding “Gay men can play a manly sport if you give us a chance to.” Bates, who hails from Victorville, Calif., is only the second active minor league baseball player to come out as gay.
Outfielder and first baseman David Denson, who played in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system, came out as gay in 2015. Denson retired from the sport in 2017.
