Billy Bean first made waves in the major leagues when he had a record-tying four hits in his first game with the Detroit Tigers.

Now he is going up to bat for a different team: the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

Bean, who is the only former professional baseball player to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, kicked off this week's National Coming Out Day celebrations when more than 75 people gathered last night to hear him speak in HUB Heritage Hall.

"I think I am the living embodiment of the idea that you never know how life is going to turn out," Bean said. "I am here because I want to be a voice for people who want to come out, but may not be able to do it yet."

Bean shared his own coming-out story and how his experience was impacted by his strict, Catholic upbringing. He also spoke of the many hardships of being a closeted gay athlete in the professional baseball world.

"Every waking minute of my life was a calculated attempt to protect people from knowing this huge secret about me," Bean said.

It was not until the death of his partner, however, that Bean realized "the façade I had been living under started to pour down on me."

Allies President Christy Merchant said she hoped Bean's speech would help break down some of the barriers between the LGBT community and athletes.

"It's not rare to find an LGBT person in athletics, but to find a publicly open LGBT athlete is almost unheard of," she said.

Benjamin Holsinger, vice president of Allies, also said Bean can be a source of empowerment.

"Student athletes can now have a role model to look up to," Holsinger said. "Now they see that somebody else has done this, and they can, too."

Ever since his story became public knowledge, Bean has been working to dispel common myths and to foster a more tolerant environment for LGBT individuals. He is currently working to implement a diversity awareness program for Major League Baseball.

"I think baseball is unfortunately going to be one of the last places where athletes can come out without fear of huge ramifications," he said. "But to say I can't be gay and a great center fielder at the same time is discriminatory and just not true."

Many students in attendance said they were enthusiastic about Bean's speech.

Sabrina Zimmerman (graduate-biochemistry and molecular biology) said she thought Bean gave a unique perspective on coming out.

"I'm from the West Coast, so coming out is a much different experience than it is here in central Pennsylvania," she said. "It gave me new insight into the stereotypes and boundaries people may have here."

Sully Ross (graduate-communication arts and sciences) said he thought it was a great way to kick off this week's events.

"There are still many parts of life that people think are completely straight," he said. "Billy Bean is proof this isn't always true."

After fielding questions, Bean told the audience not to change who they are just because they are afraid of someone else's judgment. He also praised Penn State for being "courageous enough" to have a group like Allies that can give students a safe place to turn to.