T.J. House, a former Major League Baseball player who spent four years as a pitcher for Cleveland and the Toronto Blue Jays, came out as gay in an emotional Facebook post that doubled as an engagement announcement. The 33-year-old called his partner, Ryan Neitzel, “a wonderful fiance, who challenges me daily to become a better person. To live life authentically. One who I never deserved but blessed to have.” He added: “Love you see, it's for everyone.” House said in his post that he was 23 years old when he was given the opportunity to live out his “childhood dream playing professional baseball in Cleveland,” but that he relied on his career as a “drug” to numb “what was really going on inside.” The southpaw wrote that he “loved every moment” of his time in the league, but “[d]eep down I wanted something more, I wanted to be loved not for what I did, but who I was.” He blamed “shame” for keeping him in the closet, but said that “love has finally set me free,” noting the recent passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. House is only the third ex-MLB player to come out as gay, following Glenn Burke, a Los Angeles Dodgers alum who came out in 1982, and Billy Bean, who came out in 1999 after a career with the Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, and San Diego Padres.
Love.
It’s a simple word, one that carries much weight and meaning. Each of us defines love in a different way, but at...
