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Out in
MLS front office
By
Cyd Zeigler jr.
Outsports.com
 David
Klotz is an openly gay man working in the front office
of Major League Soccer's
Colorado Rapids. He's never hidden his identity there,
never had a problem, and can't understand for the life of
him why more people aren't out in sports.
"I read
these stories all the time about coaches worried because
they want to come out, and I think, if our team is anything
like other professional teams, I just can't imagine why
people are afraid to come out," Klotz told Outsports. "I've
always been well-received here by the team and by the
administration. It just surprises me that there aren't more
out people in sports."
Klotz,
33, is the manager of premium seating and customer service
for the Rapids at their home stadium,
Dick's
Sporting
Goods
Park.
As such, he handles season-ticket accounts and game-day
public relations issues and also handles suits, luxury boxes
and club-level seating for the park's top-level team, the
Rapids. The Park is the world's largest soccer complex with
24 full-size soccer fields surrounding an 18,000-seat
stadium. The complex is a public-private partnership between
Kroenke Sports Enterprises and Commerce City, the former of
which is Klotz's employer. Kroenke also owns the NHL's
Avalanche and NBA's Nuggets.
Klotz
started with the team as an usher (or, as the team likes to
say, he worked in guest relations) because of his "love for
soccer, the love for the team," Klotz said. "Even before I
was an employee, I was a season ticket holder. There was
this woman running around on the field one day and I
thought, God I'd love to have a job like hers some day. And
I ended up doing the same sort of thing. I do it to be part
of something bigger than myself, and for love of the sport."
Growing
up in Crescent City, Calif., and going to local College of
the Redwoods, Klotz played soccer and watched what few
matches could be found on television. To this day, he is an
Arsenal fan because it was one of the very few teams he
could watch play on TV 15 to 20 years ago. "Honestly, when I
was a kid I liked their uniforms," Klotz said. "You can't go
wrong with a cannon," which is on the Arsenal crest.
He's
been openly gay since college and has never hidden his
sexuality during his tenure with the Rapids. After serving
as an usher for a year, he was offered a full-time job with
the organization. He took the job and very quickly asked
about same-sex domestic partner benefits.
"I think
that was the first clue for everyone," Klotz said.
 A
bit to his surprise, his boss didn't bat an eye; and, in
fact, they did offer those benefits. However, it was a while
before he had someone with whom to share those benefits. His
relationship with his partner of four years, Brian, is an
"Internet success story." He was working the day after
Christmas several years ago and got a random instant message
on Yahoo. Four years later, they're committed to one another
and living together. Klotz's love of sports has even rubbed
off on Brian, who attends soccer and hockey games with Klotz
and now even sits with him on weekends in the autumn to
watch football.
Best of
all, the team has taken to Brian as well as they have to
Klotz himself. "He always has a good time," Klotz said,
"players receive him well. We've never had an issue."
Klotz
has become close with some of those players. "They don't
even shake a stick about [my sexuality]," he said, not
intending the salacious pun. "I've gotten to know quite a
few of our players over the years and not one of them has
had an issue with it. I have a few friends on the team. We
go out, hang out, do things together."
He said
he hasn't been able to get them to a gay bar as of yet, but
he does tease them about coming out. It's that comfort level
they have with him that helps make him feel like he's truly
an accepted part of the team.
When
pressed for a negative experience with the team, Klotz did
have one experience that he classified more as "learning"
than bad. One day a couple years ago he went into the locker
room after a game, as he had many times before, to get
something autographed for one of the season-ticket holders.
One of the team administrators, upon seeing Klotz, closed
the curtain that separates the shower room from the rest of
the locker room. Klotz immediately confronted him about it
and asked him why he did that. The administrator told Klotz
he didn't want the guys to feel uncomfortable.
"I told
him, 'They wouldn't have been uncomfortable if you hadn't
pointed out some uncomfortableness,'" Klotz recalled.
The
administrator apologized, the curtain opened back up, and
that was the one and only time he was made to feel
uncomfortable on the team because of his sexuality. In fact,
he is using his connection with the gay community to help
bridge the gap between gays and sports. Three years ago he
worked with the ticket sales office to create a "Pride Day,"
which is taking place again this year Aug. 11 against the
Houston Dyanmo.
"We
haven't had great attendance," Klotz said, "but it is
growing and this year we hope to make it really successful."
Going
forward, Klotz has hopes of being a general manager or
managing director for a team. One thing's for sure: He won't
go back in the closet to get there.
June 30,
2007 |
