Pro sports is one of many industries that struggle in the D&I space, most having little or no structured diversity programs in place.
Of all the pro sports, Major League Baseball is a little ahead of the curve, routinely scoring a B/B+ overall in The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports’ (TIDES) annual report card. During last summer’s All-Star Game festivities, then MLB Commissioner Bud Selig announced a new addition to the league office: former player Billy Bean as the first-ever Ambassador of Inclusion.
Growing up outside of Los Angeles in the 1980s, Bean—not to be confused with Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane of Moneyball fame—had a quintessential all-American childhood: quarterback of his high-school football team, good looks, and a scholarship to play baseball for Cal State Fullerton. Major League Baseball came knocking on his door after three years of college baseball: Bean was drafted by the Detroit Tigers and quickly ascended through the minor leagues. But as he was living a baseball dream, he was beginning to face a daunting reality. Bean, who had just married his college girlfriend, is gay.
