Boston Herald sports columnist Steve Buckley came out of the closet today in a column for the newspaper.
But I’ve put this off long enough. I haven’t been fair to my family, my friends or my co-workers. And I certainly haven’t been fair to myself: For too many years I’ve been on the sidelines of Boston’s gay community but not in the game — figuratively and literally, as I feel I would have had a pretty good career in the (gay) Beantown Softball League.
But I’ve put this off long enough. I haven’t been fair to my family, my friends or my co-workers. And I certainly haven’t been fair to myself: For too many years I’ve been on the sidelines of Boston’s gay community but not in the game — figuratively and literally, as I feel I would have had a pretty good career in the (gay) Beantown Softball League.
Over the past couple of months I have discussed the coming-out process with my family and a few friends, and have had sit-downs with Herald editor-in-chief Joe Sciacca and sports editor Hank Hryniewicz, as well as with WEEI’s Glenn Ordway. They’ve been great, as have my friends and family.
But during this same period, I have read sobering stories about people who came undone, killing themselves after being outed. These tragic events helped guide me to the belief that if more people are able to be honest about who they are, ultimately fewer people will feel such devastating pressure.
Welcome to the club, Steve! And thank you for having the courage to do what the “heroes” you report on every day don’t have the guts to do! Oh, and the softball league? They’re pretty good…
What’s interesting to me is that the Herald is supposed to be this bastion of conservatism where people want to burn gays at the stake, while the Boston Globe is supposed to be the all-welcoming paper of record for Beantown. It’s great to see the Herald embrace this man regardless of his sexual orientation.
Hat tip to waflanagan.
