Minor League baseball player Anderson Comas comes out as gay with heartfelt message
“If you’re homophobic, this post is not for you,” Anderson Comas said in his coming out statement. (Credit: Anderson Comas / Instagram)
Minor league baseball player Anderson Comas has come out as gay, in a heartfelt social media announcement.
A player for part of the Chicago White Sox organisation, he came out at the weekend, in an Instagram post where he told fans to “fight for your dreams”.
Comas said that it was one of the “most personal” messages of his career, but that he was happy to be part of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I’m also a human with a great soul,” he continued.
“I’m respectful, I’m a lover, I love my family and friends and that’s what really matters.”
The 23-year-old pitcher joined the White Sox in 2016.
His unapologetic post came with a disclaimer that “if you’re homophobic, this post is not for you”. He did, however, urge anti-LGBTQ+ people to continue reading so that they could see “we all are the same”.
“I just wanna say something to those people that say that gay people cannot be someone in this life – well, look at me. I’m gay and I’m a professional athlete, so that didn’t [stop] me [making] my dreams come true.”
Addressing other LGBTQ+ people, he continued: “Please don’t listen to those stupid things that people say about us. Fight for your dreams, believe in yourself and go for it.”
White Sox assistant general manager, Chris Getz, said that the club was “so proud” of Comas for speaking his truth.
“I was very pleased that he was comfortable sharing with us in player development,” he said.
“I also was happy at the reaction across the organisation, which, as you would expect, was to support, help and congratulate a teammate.”
Comas is by no means the first baseball star to come out as gay.
Los Angeles Dodgers batter, Glenn Burke, was the first pro player to reveal his sexuality. He went public in 1982 after being forced to retire but said he was pretty sure “everybody knew” long before that and he had already told his teammates.
Burke told The New York Times that prejudice in baseball had driven him out of the sport sooner than he would have liked, but that he “wasn’t changing” for anyone or anything.
Outfielder Billy Bean came out during an interview with the Miami Herald in 1999.
