Bryan Ruby Becomes the Only Openly Gay Active Pro Baseball Player
September 2, 2021 (New York, NY) — Athlete Ally responded today to news that Bryan Ruby has become the only active pro baseball player to come out as gay. Ruby, who plays for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, came out through a USA Today profile today.
“I kept thinking about the little 14-year-old me, who was scared because I’m a baseball player who loved country music,” Ruby, 25, told USA TODAY Sports. “Those are worlds where people like me are told they can’t belong… But today, you can’t find a single active baseball player who is out publicly. I want to help create a world where future generations of baseball players don’t have to sacrifice authenticity or who they really are to play the game they love.”
“Sport changes for the better when athletes can be their authentic selves,” said Joanna Hoffman, Director of Communications at Athlete Ally. “By speaking his truth, Bryan Ruby is paving the way for LGBTQ+ athletes in baseball and throughout sport to be safe, welcome and included. This also underscores the need for players, coaches, teams and leagues to proactively create cultures of inclusion, so that LGBTQ+ athletes and fans know they can safely be who they are, and that discrimination of any kind is prohibited.”