EYDER PERALTA, HOST:
Only three Major League baseball players have ever come out as gay - Glenn Burke, Billy Bean and TJ House. All of them came out after their careers were over. Both Burke and Bean played parts of their careers with the LA Dodgers. Yesterday at Dodger Stadium, as part of the team's Pride Night, the Dodgers unveiled a permanent Pride wall, honoring both men. Steve Futterman reports.
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: In 1977, millions watched Glenn Burke play for the Dodgers against the New York Yankees in the World Series, as heard on ABC.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: Glenn Burke playing center field tonight, his first World Series appearance, he takes...
FUTTERMAN: Nearly 49 years later, Burke is the only known gay player ever to take part in baseball's fall classic. Yesterday...
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Pride Night at Dodger Stadium.
FUTTERMAN: The Dodgers unveiled a special permanent exhibit honoring both Burke and Billy Bean. Neither man was there. Burke died in 1995 as the result of AIDS-related complications. Bean died in 2024 from a type of blood cancer. Relatives and friends showed up to honor the two trailblazers. Billy Bean's husband Greg Baker says while there may be more acceptance, it's still very hard for a player to come out.
GREG BAKER: I still think it's difficult. I still think that there are a hell of a lot of challenges. I think that the environment maybe has gotten a little friendlier.
FUTTERMAN: One of those representing Glenn Burke was his sister, Joyce Burke Henderson. She believes if her brother played today, he would acknowledge being gay.
JOYCE BURKE HENDERSON: Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. He wouldn't have cared at this point. He would have came on out and said what he had to say. I believe the world is more accepting nowadays than it was back then because it was a absolutely no-no back then. So, you know, he wouldn't have had a problem coming out today at all.
FUTTERMAN: Former LA All-Star Rick Monday played with Burke. Although some Dodgers knew that Burke was gay, Monday says he did not. He hopes the exhibit brings understanding.
RICK MONDAY: We're on this blue marble, if you will, and we better understand how we get along much, much better than we are currently.
FUTTERMAN: Several Minor League players have come out while still playing, but no active Major League player has ever acknowledged being gay.
FUTTERMAN: For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles.
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