“I wasn’t intimidated or scared”: Dale Scott, The MLB Umpire who stood dauntlessly for his ‘GAY’ stance
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Dale Scott
In 2014, MLB Umpire Dale Scott shocked the world after he came out of the closet as Gay. Interestingly he was the first umpire in the history of the league to make such a bold move. Fans got to know about it when Jimmy Fallon on his show publicly stated, “This time he’s out but the umpire is safe.”
While the Jimmy Fallon Show made Dale Scott look like a laughing stock, his personal was altogether different in his 37-year pro baseball career. To be precise, Scott feared the repercussions if he was outed, especially in his early seasons, which coincided with the Aids crisis. Although he is not the only ‘Gay’ umpire in the history of the major league, yet his move was a significant event for the entire LGBTQ+ society.
In a conversation with his Co-writer, “Rob said: ‘You’ve got a completely unique, different story that nobody else ever had,’” says Scott, who initially didn’t want to write the book. “The more I thought about it, after I came out publicly in 2014, the feedback I got was so positive. People told me my story really helped them in their lives.”
Dale Scott talks about his mindset while coming out of closet
Veteran umpire, Dale Scott wonders when an active MLB player will come out, as athletes in other leagues have done. “We’ve had it in football, basketball, soccer. Baseball is a little bit behind the eight-ball. I’m not exactly sure why.”
“I told myself that I would not look in the mirror every day for the rest of my life and lie to myself,” Dale Scott says. “I also understood I had to play the game, society’s game. I couldn’t just make the rounds in 1979 saying: ‘Guess what, I’m gay.’ It was not going to fly.
“It wasn’t because I was ashamed or felt guilty or something, that I didn’t come out earlier. I understood society, understood the norms of the time.” That being said, Scott wrote of losing a number of friends and acquaintances to the disease, and of hearing homophobic comments from fellow umpires.
“I did not work in the city I lived in, but was always on the road, out of town,” Dale Scott says. “It was not like an office job, where you’re in an office with co-workers, and go out for a drink, or there’s a Christmas party for employees and their spouses. I did not have to do that type of schedule. The fact that I did not work in the city I lived in played to my advantage in a lot of ways.”
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Yagya Bhargava
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