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MLB Exec Optimistic About Acceptance, Support Of Openly Gay Players

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Would Major League Baseball and its fans accept an openly gay player? One big league executive says maybe someday.

Billy Bean came out as gay after he retired from the San Diego Padres in 1995. Today, he's baseball's vice president for social responsibility and inclusion. In town to throw out the first pitch on the Phillies' inaugural pride night, Bean says a player might want to avoid distractions during a brief big league career.

"I'm not looking at the amount of players who come out today, tomorrow, or in the future as a sign of the success of the effort we're making," Bean said. "I definitely think we have moved the conversation."

Bean says there is more social acceptance now and believes an openly gay player would be supported, as long as he was a good teammate who contributed on the field -- even though a clubhouse can be a difficult environment.

"Every sexist comment is veiled homophobia anyways," he said. "And no different from the way racist comments could fly around the clubhouse 60 years ago."

Bean says his message to Major League teams is: progress is being made -- and he's there if players want to talk.

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