Billy Bean is the only openly gay current or former Major League Baseball (MLB) player alive today. From 1987 to 1995, he played for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Diego Padres.
As a closeted gay man in the hyper-masculine and anti-gay world of professional sports, he found himself increasingly unable to manage his double life and chose to walk away from a major league career. Bean came out publicly in 1999 and his story received nationwide coverage,
making him the first major league baseball player to publicly discuss his homosexuality to this extent.
His openness and the publication of his memoir, Going the Other Way, paved the way for his eventual return to the big leagues as Major League Baseball's first Ambassador for Inclusion. Appointed to the role in 2014 by Commissioner Bud Selig, Bean is now at the forefront of the League’s efforts for a fair and equitable workplace throughout all of baseball.
Billy Bean
Vice President & Special Assistant to the Commissioner, Major League Baseball
Russ Mitchell
News Anchor, WKYC
David Gilbert
President and CEO, Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
Dan Moulthrop
CEO, The City Club of Cleveland
