Before becoming the first openly gay player in Major League Soccer, Robbie Rogers' coming out originally coincided with his retirement.
Jason Collins and Michael Sam were celebrated for coming out but then swiftly nudged aside. Glenn Burke and Billy Bean had unhappy and short-lived careers as major leaguers who were not out publicly. The precedents for Conroy's experience aren't encouraging. The Stompers are one of only four teams in the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, where players make only a couple hundred bucks a month in a three-month season.
The moment may have been surreal, but what happened last June was very real. Photo credit: Conroy family photo, courtesy of the Sonoma Stompers.
