David Denson is baseball's first openly gay active player | CNN

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David Denson tells Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writer that he's gay

He says his teammates told him "We've got your back"

CNN —

David Denson, a first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers’ rookie affiliate in Helena, Montana, made baseball history this weekend by revealing that he is gay.

Denson, 20, publicly disclosed the news in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article after sharing it with his family and Helena Brewers teammates. The news makes Denson the first active player affiliated with a Major League organization to come out publicly.

“Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them,” Denson told sports writer Tom Haudricourt.

“They said, ‘You’re still our teammate. You’re still our brother. We kind of had an idea, but your sexuality has nothing to do with your ability. You’re still a ballplayer at the end of the day. We don’t treat you any different. We’ve got your back.’”

Denson, who is batting .245 with four home runs and 18 RBIs in 42 games for Helena, is the Brewers’ 27th-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com. He was selected by the Brewers in the 15th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft out of South Hills High School in West Covina, California.

A handful of retired pro athletes have come out in recent years, including retired major leaguer Billy Bean. Since retiring from professional baseball in 1995, Bean has spoken frequently about the pressure gay athletes face to conceal their sexuality. As Major League Baseball’s first Ambassador for Inclusion, Bean counseled Denson on his decision to reveal he is gay.

“Any player who happens to be gay and is a professional and has kept that secret, they just want to be judged for their baseball or football or basketball ability. David would not be playing professional baseball if he wasn’t an excellent baseball player,” Bean told the Journal Sentinel.

“The beauty of what could come from this is he can be an example that can help change that perception and change the stereotype that there would never be a gay person on a men’s professional sports team. That was something I struggled with.”