Chicago White Sox minor league player Anderson Comas has come out as gay on social media on Sunday, encouraging others not to “listen to those stupid things that people say about us.”
Comas, who joined the organization in 2017, began his Instagram post with a message to his followers that if they were homophobic, it “may not [be] for you.”
“This may be my most personal thing I ever share and it’s that I’m proudly and happily part of the LGTBQ+ community,” the White Sox prospect wrote.
The 23-year-old Dominican outfielder and pitcher called being a professional baseball player the “best thing that happened to me” and took aim at his critics. His decision to come out publicly, he said, is to be “an inspiration to those like me.”
“… so I just wanna say something to those people that says that gay people can not be someone in this life, well look at me I’m Gay and I’m a professional athlete so that didn’t stopped me to make my dreams come true,” he said.
“… please don’t listen to those stupid things that people say about us, fight for your dreams, believe in yourself and go for it,” he added.
White Sox assistant general manager Chris Getz applauded Comas on Twitter and said he was “happy” with the reaction across the organization.
“With his social media post today, we are all so proud of Anderson and that he is comfortable sharing such an important personal part of his life so openly,” Getz said in a statement.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Taijuan Walker, Kansas City first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and New York Mets player Mark Canha all tweeted in support of Comas. Tennis legend and gay rights activist Billie Jean King, who was forced to come out publicly in 1981, also remarked on his announcement.
“Living authentically is frightening but always worth it,” she wrote Monday.
CBS Sports reported that Comas is the third minor leaguer in baseball history to publicly come out. He joins former San Francisco Giants pitcher Solomon Bates and former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman David Denson.
