The first Glenn Burke Pride Night takes place on Friday at the Oakland Coliseum to honor and celebrate the legacy of MLB’s first openly gay player. Burke played for the A’s in 1978 and 1979. The annual celebratory night now will be named after him.
In addition to Burke, the night will celebrate the Bay Area’s LGBTQ+ community, a group Athletics manager Bob Melvin is very familiar with.
"I think it's huge and especially here in the Bay Area,” Melvin said Friday. “It's been embraced maybe more so than other places and my daughter's part of the community too.”
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Melvin’s daughter, Alexi took to Twitter to detail her support as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
“I have always felt very supported and empowered to live my truth,” Alexi wrote. “I have been lucky. So much love to the rest of my community.”
“This is a big day here and Glenn Burke’s a trailblazer as far as that goes and this is something our organization takes a lot of pride in so hopefully awareness like this,” Melvin said. “I know the Giants are doing something too. Like I said, the Bay Area takes lead in that and it’s a lot to feel good about.”
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Melvin said he hopes days like Glenn Burke Pride Night could add to that confidence in someone coming out.
“Without a doubt,” Melvin said.