Gay baseballer pens shocking letter about locker room homophobia

A PRO baseballer has sent shockwaves through the sporting world by revealing the shameful secrets of the locker room.

A BASEBALLER in the United States has published a heartbreaking open letter about how homophobia ruined his career and forced him to quit the sport.

Former St Louis Cardinal Tyler Dunnington, who only recently revealed he is gay, provided a shocking account of the locker room homophobia he faced in his brief career.

In a letter to SB Nation’s Outsports, Dunnington wrote he was present when both teammates and coaches made comments about killing gay people.

When playing in his final season in college at Division II Colorado Mesa Mavericks, Dunnington said a member of the coaching staff joked about the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, who was beaten, tortured, and left to die in 1998.

“We kill gay people in Wyoming,” the unidentified coach said, bragging of his state’s treatment of gay people.

It was not an isolated case.

While playing with his Major League Baseball team’s minor league affiliate the Gulf Coast League Cardinals in Florida in 2014, Dunnington said he also heard a conversation between teammates questioning how one player could ever continue to support his brother for revealing he is a homosexual.

“One teammate with the Cardinals mentioned that he has a gay brother,” Outpost Sports’ Cyd Zeigler explained.

“While there was some supportive talk, two teammates in particular questioned their straight teammate on how he could possibly be friends with a gay person, even his brother. They even mentioned ways to kill gay people.”

The talented pitcher did not return to baseball the following year. He was a no-show at spring training. He was done.

Below is the letter published by Outsports.com.

“My name’s Tyler Dunnington, and I was a 28th-round pick by the St Louis Cardinals in the 2014 MLB Draft,” Dunnington wrote.

“I was one of the not-so-many players to be given a chance to pursue my dream of being a Major League Baseball player.

“I was also one of the unfortunate closeted gay athletes who experienced years of homophobia in the sport I loved. I was able to take most of it with a grain of salt but towards the end of my career I could tell it was affecting my relationships with people, my performance, and my overall happiness.

“I experienced both coaches and players make remarks on killing gay people during my time in baseball, and each comment felt like a knife to my heart. I was miserable in a sport that used to give me life, and ultimately I decided I needed to hang up my cleats for my own sanity.

“After a little over a year of being gone from the game I’ve come to realise I thought I was choosing happiness over being miserable. That is not necessarily the case. My passion still lies in baseball, and removing myself from the game didn’t change that.

“Most of the greatest memories I have are with this sport. After gaining acceptance from my friends and family I realised I didn’t have to quit baseball to find happiness.

“I not only wanted to share my story but also apologise for not using the stage I had to help change the game. Quitting isn’t the way to handle adversity, and I admire the other athletes acting as trailblazers.”

Tyler Dunnington hasn’t completely given up on baseball.

Since the letter was published this week, the St. Louis Cardinals have said they are treating Dunnington’s claims of homophobia “very seriously”.

General manager John Mozeliak told The Associated Press in a statement today that he’s “very disappointed” to learn about the 24-year-old’s experiences, adding that: “Our hope is that every player, staff member and employee feels they are treated equally and fairly.

“Given the nature of these allegations I will certainly look into this further as well as speak with Billy Bean of the Commissioner’s office for further assistance on this matter.

“We will take this very seriously,’’ Mozeliak said.

In 2013, Major League Baseball established a policy prohibiting players from harassing or discriminating against other players based on sexual orientation. Bean, baseball’s openly gay Ambassador for Inclusion, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he’s sought out Dunnington to discuss and understand his experience.

However, Bean said there was “no precedent’’ for an investigation of this nature.

“This is something that reminds me I have a lot of work to do, and it’s a challenge,’’ said Bean, a former big leaguer who publicly revealed in 1999 that he is gay and joined the commissioner’s office a year later.

Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said he had been told about the allegations and that the team would “try to figure out ways so they can have an atmosphere where they can be as good as they can be’.’

— with AP

Originally published as Gay baseballer pens shocking letter about locker room homophobia