Dale Scott, an MLB umpire since 1985, was recently profiled in the October issue of Referee Magazine. He was asked to submit some personal photos to accompany the article, so he sent one where he posed on vacation with his longtime partner and husband Michael Rausch. Prior to sending in the photo, Scott had not come out as gay, at least not beyond his close circle.
Earlier this week he spoke with Outsports.com about his decision to send it.
“Obviously, when I sent that picture to [Referee Magazine], 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.
“I realized that it could open a Pandora’s Box, but this is not a surprise to Major League Baseball, the people I work for. It’s not a surprise to the umpire staff. Until Mike and I got married last November, he was my same-sex domestic partner and had his own MLB I.D. and was on my insurance policy.”
Scott is the first openly gay umpire in Major League Baseball. He and Rausch have been long-time partners, but he told Outsports it was because of their marriage late last year that he felt compelled to submit the photo that would out him publicly. He is well aware that his announcement may cause some unwanted attention.
“It’s still a headline, look at Michael Sam,” Scott said. “People scream at me because I’m an umpire. The last thing I want is people screaming at me because I’m gay. I’m an umpire who happens to be gay. I’m not trying to be some gay person who happens to be an umpire.”
Well said.
Hey quick show of hands, how many of you knew prior to just now that Referee Magazine was a thing? Oh stop it, you did not.
