Dave Pallone has been out of baseball since 1988 and yet the
mail still comes on a regular basis. Mostly it’s e-mail
correspondence, though he still gets some snail-mail
letters, often with autograph requests for some of the
umpire cards he appeared on in the 1980s.
And
he also still gets hate mail, about once a month.
“I usually read them, though sometimes I just delete them. I
think it’s important to know why the person hates me,” said
Pallone, the only openly gay former major league baseball
umpire.
Since publishing his New York Times’ best-selling
autobiography (“Behind The Mask: My Double Life In Baseball)
in 1990, Pallone has received more than 700,000 letters.
Pallone worked 18 years as a professional umpire, the last
10 in the National League. (Today’s major league umpires are
not split by league as they were in Pallone’s era; they now
umpire in the National and American League.).
He lives in Albuquerque with his partner of 11 years, Keith
Humble.
“Dave Pallone is a very happy person and is very fortunate
to have found true loves of his life. One who passed away
and one now who I hopefully will be with for the rest of my
life,” Pallone said. “I enjoy speaking to young people and
adults across America; I haven’t vanished into thin air. I
don’t make a lot of public appearances because I choose not
to, that being (appearances that are) part of the Gay Games
or part of a Pride parade. And that’s simply because I
choose not to. But I still feel that I am an important part
of my community. But when needed and called upon, I would
want to be a part of it.”
Pallone speaks across the country about sexual orientation,
focusing on respect for everyone. He is a member of the
Society for Human Resource Management and has been a keynote
speaker at conferences and other corporate events for
Fortune 500 companies. He also is on the National Collegiate
Athletic Association’s preferred speakers list for
diversity, and has brought his presentation to athletic
departments around the country. In 1995, Pallone and Martina
Navratilova appeared on stage together for a conversation at
the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, marking the first
time that two prominent, openly gay people in professional
sports appeared on stage.
“I am one of the lucky ones who can say they’ve seen the
differences from 1990 to 2007. Yes, there still is bigotry
and hate in America, even on college campuses, though
certainly not [as bad] as it was,” he said. “I’ve seen that
the young people of today want all people to be treated
equally, and they’re adamant about all students being
treated equally. The majority of today’s students are
touched by the stories I tell them; the majority of them
want to make a difference; and, they’re knowledgeable enough
to know that there are young people out there today who
really have struggled with their sexual orientation and just
want to be accepted. I am really encouraged with the young
people of today.”
That said, Pallone added, “we still have a long way to go
until the day comes when our society stops vilifying
[homosexuals]. People who are LGBT are Americans, too, and
we need the same rights.”
Pallone said there’s still a long way to go before a male
athlete from one of the big four sports (baseball,
basketball, football and hockey) comes out while still
active.
“It seems that our society knows that are male athletes who
are out there who are gay, but none have come out. I think
society would accept them, but there’s just too much
pressure on them if they came out,” Pallone said. “I think
we’re still pretty far away [from an active player coming
out on his own accord], as terrible as that is to think.”
Pallone said it likely will be within the next five years
before a player comes out while active, “but I thought that
same (time-frame) back in 1995.”
“I never thought we’d be in 2007 without an openly gay male
athlete.”
And
he also still gets hate mail, about once a month.