Ex-Pittsburgh Pirates owner comes out

Kevin McClatchy, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates and now the board chairman at the McClatchy Company newspaper chain, said in an interview with The New York Times that he is gay. He blamed frequent homophobic slurs he heard in baseball circles for staying in the closet.

“I’ve got a birthday coming up where I’m turning old,” McClatchy, who will turn 50 in January, told The Times. “I’ve spent 30 years — or whatever the number is specifically — not talking about my personal life, lying about my personal life.”

McClatchy, 49, is not the first major-league executive or former executive to come out as gay. Rick Welts, the president and chief executive officer of the Phoenix Suns, revealed his sexuality last year.

[via ESPN]