Photo Credit: Andrey Kaunov, Strekoza Photography
By Lauren Means
The first thing most people notice about Bryan Ruby is his shiny, beautiful hair. Once he starts talking though, you notice there’s a lot more to Ruby than beautiful hair and he’s ready to share his story.
Ruby, who grew up in Pennsylvania, has accomplished quite a bit in his 26 years. He started playing baseball when he was six years old. This allowed him to play across the US and in six different countries. He’s now a professional baseball player for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, a country music singer/songwriter, the founder of a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, a Community Advisor for the Nashville Stars, and a pioneer for LGBTQ+ representation in sports. Oh, and in September 2021, he became the first active professional baseball player to come out as LGBTQ+.
His move to Tennessee in October 2019 opened many doors for him in his pursuit of both country music and baseball. Sports and county music are both areas that have historically been less than welcoming to publicly-out, queer people. Ruby said he had hesitation and concern about coming out in both spaces. He recalled, “Honestly, I was pretty worried about both spaces. Neither the male sports world nor the mainstream country music world has historically been awash with LGBTQ+ representation, so it was a big unknown what might happen if I did come out publicly.”
Ruby said he was fortunate and felt a lot of support from people in both the sports and country music communities since coming out publicly. “I’m proud to have kept moving forward as an out queer person in both of those spaces. This year, my baseball career is starting to wind down naturally but things are just starting to pick up for me on stage,” Ruby said. He says it’s likely his final year playing ball but he can’t wait to see where his journey leads to.
Fostering inclusion and acceptance
While his minor league career might be coming to a close, he’s still tied to the baseball community through his nonprofit Proud To Be In Baseball. After coming out publicly, Ruby created the Tennessee-based 501(c)(3) which is dedicated to advocating, educating, and creating opportunities for the next generation of LGBTQ+ people in baseball. “They say, ‘If you can see it, you can be it’. Well, I created our charity because I felt totally alone as a closeted queer kid who dreamed of one day becoming a pro baseball player, and I would never want any other players to go through what I did, especially in this day and age,” explained Ruby.
One way Proud To Be In Baseball educates is through its LGBTQ Sports Library Collection. The library collection is a comprehensive curated collection of several dozen biographies and autobiographies of LGBTQ sports icons, available for purchase or donation to schools, community centers, individuals, and businesses. Ruby said he wishes he would have been able to read these books as a kid. “Reading about athletes like me would have helped me feel much less alone in the world,” he said.
He’s also going directly to the source to try to help others feel included by speaking at schools, community groups, and businesses about his experiences. Ruby said if he’d heard stories from people he identified with when he was younger it would have helped him when he was coming into his own. “It’s so important to send that signal out to the next generation that they can be whoever they want and chase their dreams,” Ruby explained. “Whether that is playing sports or country music or whatever they want — it is possible.”
Finding your people
The work Ruby is doing through his nonprofit is very important and much needed. In a May 2022 interview with Philadelphia Gay News, he recalled a time in college when a teammate used a homophobic slur in reference to the pitcher for the opposing team — and this was after Ruby had already come out to his teammates.
The teammate did apologize but it illustrates how it’s still commonplace in many spaces to hear homophobic insults in the sports world. “Sadly, that’s just a part of everyday existence for a lot of LGBTQ+ athletes. It takes a lot to stand up to that kind of language, especially if you are outnumbered in the locker room,” noted Ruby.
His advice for people who are looking to stand up to this behavior and language is to find your people. “Look for allies who will have your back when stuff like that comes up. Work as hard as possible and play as best as you can,” he said.
Ruby also acknowledges he’s been very lucky to have some great people around him who offered support when he needed it most. “I think one of the most important things my family, friends, and teammates needed to see back when I was struggling was that I was truly just fighting to become the best version of myself possible. They saw how much better I felt and how much more fulfilling it was for me to live my life authentically, and that helped,” he said.
As we have more athletes bringing their whole selves to the game, it’s likely this behavior will be less tolerated. But, why do LGBTQ+ people have to make a public announcement just to proclaim one part of the many aspects that make them whole? Why is it that certain people have to step forward about their personal life in order to stop systemic hate and prejudice? Will we ever get to a place where people, regardless of career, have to “come out?” Ruby is hopeful but realistic.
“I truly wish we can get to a place where people don’t have to come out. Being completely honest, taking up the ‘only out gay pro baseball player’ mantle has been a lot. Ideally, no one has to make a point of coming out, but it’ll take a whole lot more LGBTQ+ people being publicly ‘out’ in many different industries — baseball, country music, and many more underrepresented spaces — before that is a reality,” said Ruby.
Ruby is also involved in a new documentary aimed at showing the next generation of athletes that it’s possible to be ‘out’ and play baseball. The documentary titled “Can’t Tell” follows Ruby and his journey in being an out professional baseball player and country singer-songwriter. The film is currently in post-production.
Beyond Baseball
As his baseball career winds down, his music career is heating up. As a songwriter, Ruby has written two dozen songs that have been recorded by various artists with some making it into top country music charts. As an artist, he was the winner of season seven of the songwriting competition, Nashville Rising Song. In June 2022, he released his debut single “Left Field” and the song was featured on The TODAY Show and added to rotation on SiriusXM Country Pride, as well as the Academy of Country Music’s Ultimate Pride Playlist.
Ruby’s debut EP “Diamonds Are Forever” is slated for release in late 2023 and his next single, “Centerfield,” will be out on August 25.
This year for Pride Month, Ruby and Ty Herndon released the duet “The Standouts (Heroes Version).” Ruby said the song was written to encompass many different things, but the not-so-secret message he wanted to send to the next generation of baseball and country music fans through the lyrics is that it’s okay to stick out from the crowd. He said, “Be unique, embrace your individuality, and be as authentically ‘you’ as possible. You owe it to yourself to be that person. It is worth it.”
Connect With Bryan Ruby
Web: bryanrubymusic.com and proudtobeinbaseball.org
Instagram: instagram.com/bryanrubyofficial
TikTok: tiktok.com/@bryanrubyofficial
YouTube: youtube.com/@bryanrubyofficial
For more information or to buy the LGBTQ Sports Library Collection, emailing [email protected]. All proceeds from the sale of the LGBTQ Sports Library Collection go towards the non-profit.
