Coming Out in Print

Billy Bean
Issue 801, December  21, 1999
The former major league baseball player came out in 1999, four years after retiring from the sport. He spoke to The Advocate about his involvement with Project Yes, a Florida-based organization that aids LGBT teens.

“I can see now what it means to help give someone a sense of self-worth. I know all about the self-hatred and shame and how hard it is to get to a point where you feel good about yourself. You can be an ordinary kid who on the outside has a lot going for him but on the inside feels rotten because you have been trained to think negatively about yourself. I’d love to think I helped a few 15-year-olds feel like they are cool even though they are different.”