MLB Umpire Dale Scott Comes Out As Gay

Dale Scott, who has been an MLB umpire for the last 29 years, quietly came out as gay two months ago. He was profiled in the October issue of Referee Magazine, and when he was asked to submit some non-umpiring photos, he sent them the one above, in which Scott is posing with his husband and partner of 28 years.

Scott recently spoke with Outsports, and explained his decision to include the photo in the profile:

"My thought process was," Scott told Outsports in his first interview on the subject, "is that there's a story about my career and how I got started in umpiring and they're talking to people I have known since junior high and it didn't seem right to have a whole story and pictures without a picture of Mike and I, someone who's been with me through this entire process. We met the October after my first year in the big leagues.

"Obviously, when I sent that picture to Jeff, I knew exactly what it meant. In a small way, this was opening that door in a publication that wasn't going to be circulated nationwide. It could be picked up, but it's not Time magazine. I made that decision to go ahead and do it because I felt it was the right thing to do."

Scott and his husband, Mike Rausch, were married in November. Scott is the first openly gay MLB umpire.

Photo via Referee

[ Outsports]