Dave Pallone has been out of baseball since 1988 and, yet, the mail still comes on a fairly regular basis. Mostly it's e-mail correspondence these days, though he still gets some letters through the mail, often with autograph requests for some of the umpire cards he appeared on in the 1980s.
And he also still gets hate mail—about once a month. 'I usually read them, though sometimes I just delete them. I think it's important to know why the person hates me,' said Pallone, a gay former major-league baseball umpire.
Since publishing his New York Times' best-selling autobiography ( Behind The Mask: My Double Life In Baseball ) in 1990, Pallone has received more than 700,000 letters. 'That's very humbling,' he said. 'I had a good career in baseball, and hopefully people remember me as someone who tried to make a difference in our society.'
Pallone worked 18 years as a professional umpire, the last 10 in the National League. ( Today's major-league umpires are not split by league as they were in Pallone's era; they now umpire in the National and American leagues. )
'Dave Pallone is a very happy person and is very fortunate to have found true loves of his life. One who passed away and one now who I hopefully will be with for the rest of my life,' said Pallone, who lives in Albuquerque, N.M., with Keith Humble, his partner of 11 years. 'I enjoy speaking to young people and adults across America; I haven't vanished into thin air. I don't make a lot of public appearances because I choose not to, that being [ appearances that are ] part of the Gay Games or part of a Pride parade. And that's simply because I choose not to. But I still feel that I am an important part of my community. But when needed and called upon, I would want to be a part of it.'
Pallone was the grand marshall for Chicago's Gay Pride Parade years ago, particularly because he always enjoyed his 'business trips' to nearby Wrigley Field for umpiring assignments that involved the Cubs. 'I really wanted to do that because I love the city of Chicago.'
Pallone was one of the honorees last April at the Gay Games' Night of 100 Champions; however, he chose not to attend the ceremony. 'There are so many people who want to be in the spotlight for our community. I just want to be a part of my community, in the spotlight, when I truly believe in the cause,' he said.
One cause Pallone truly supports is trying to reduce the suicide rate among LGBT teenagers. 'No one could be more proud of who they are than myself. I think gay pride is important, but I also think gay pride is 365 days a year, not just one day or one weekend [ a year ] ,' he said.
Pallone speaks across the country about sexual orientation, focusing on respect for everyone. He is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management and has been a keynote speaker at conferences and other corporate events for Fortune 500 companies. He also is on the National Collegiate Athletic Association's ( NCAA ) preferred speakers list for diversity, and has brought his presentation to athletic departments around the country. In 1995, Pallone and Martina Navratilova appeared on stage together for a candid conversation at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, marking the first time that two prominent, openly gay people in professional sports appeared on stage.
'I don't know why some in the gay community have thought that I've picked up and went away,' said Pallone, who is now rarely quoted by the media—especially the gay media—on gay issues.
'I am one of the lucky ones who can say they've seen the differences from 1990 to 2007. Yes, there still is bigotry and hate in America, even on college campuses, though certainly not [ as bad ] as it was. I've seen that the young people of today want all people to be treated equally, and they're adamant about all students being treated [ that way ] .'
That said, Pallone noted that 'we still have a long way to go until the day comes when our society stops vilifying [ homosexuals ] . People who are LGBT are Americans, too, and we need the same rights.'
The sports world has been thrust into the spotlight of the LGBT community for the past few months since former National Basketball Association ( NBA ) player John Amaechi revealed he was gay.
The fallout from Amaechi's coming out helped the cause, Pallone said, but there's still a long way to go before a male athlete from one of the big four sports ( baseball, basketball, football and hockey ) will come out while still active.
'It seems that our society knows that are male athletes who are out there who are gay, but none have come out. I think society would accept them, but there's just too much pressure on them if they came out,' Pallone said. 'I think we're still pretty far away [ from an active player coming out on his own accord ] , as terrible as that is to think.'
Pallone said it likely will be within the next five years before a player comes out while active, 'but I thought that same [ time frame ] back in 1995.'
'I never thought we'd be in 2007 without an openly gay male athlete.'
That thought personally throws Pallone, who knows nine athletes ( professional and collegiate ) who are closeted. He doesn't expect any of them to come out while active 'because of our society vilifying sexual orientation and [ because of ] the almighty dollar. They don't want to affect their salary or their advertising money,' he said.
