Kevin McClatchy, the former owner of
the Pittsburgh Pirates and the current chairman of the board of
publisher The McClatchy Company, believes an openly gay professional
baseball player is inevitable.
McClatchy, 50, came out gay in 2012,
five years after stepping down from the helm of the Pittsburgh
Pirates.
“I had gone through a certain amount
of my life having to tell a lie, not talking about my life, and it
got to a point where it made no sense,” McClatchy
told gay glossy Out.
“It became clear to me that I was ready to come out. I am sure
there are people out there – and I've heard this – who say, 'You
should have come out earlier.' But until you walk in someone else's
shoes, it's tough to understand why.”
McClatchy added that before coming out
publicly he told Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig that an
openly gay player was inevitable.
“This is going to happen, and it's
not a big deal,” McClatchy told Selig. “Baseball is a game of
statistics; it doesn't lie. Your ability doesn't lie. If you're
batting .320, whether you're dating a guy or a gal, it's not gonna
matter.”