Former Pirates owner McClatchy reveals he’s gay

Pittsburgh, PA, United States (4E Sports) – Former Pittsburgh Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy came out of the closet and revealed that he is gay, hoping that his admission would give strength to young people in sports who were hiding their sexual orientation out of fear.

“You’re not going to solve any problem until you start a dialogue,” McClatchy told The New York Times in an interview. “And there’s no dialogue right now.”

“This has been challenging to me,” said McClatchy of his decision to reveal his sexual orientation. “I probably didn’t sleep as well as I could have last night.”

At first, the 49-year-old McClatchy explained that he kept his sexual orientation to himself so as not to create distraction when his group purchased the Pirates in 1996.

An heir to a newspaper chain, McClatchy also said frequent homophobic slurs he heard in baseball circles convinced him further to keep it a secret.

“I’ve got a birthday coming up where I’m turning old,” McClatchy said, referring to his 50th, in January. “I’ve spent 30 years — or whatever the number is specifically — not talking about my personal life, lying about my personal life.”

“There’s no way I want to go into the rest of my existence and ever have to hide my personal life again,” he added.

McClatchy was not the first sports executive to openly reveal his sexual orientation. Last, year, Phoenix Suns president and chief executive officer Rick Welts revealed he’s gay.

McClatchy purchased the Pirates for $95 million in 1996 and was instrumental for the building of the PNC Park in 2001.

However, the team never had a winning season under his tenure as owner until he stepped down in 2007.

McClatchy sold his shares of the Pirates in 2009 only after ensuring that the Pirates will stay in Pittsburgh.

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