Retired Major League Baseball pitcher TJ House comes out and his announces engagement to boyfriend

This is a wonderful story.

Retired Major League Baseball pitcher TJ House has been with his boyfriend Ryan Neitzel for eight years and even posted about him on Instagram over the years.

The former Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher took to Facebook to announce his engagement:

Love.
It’s a simple word, one that carries much weight and meaning. Each of us defines love in a different way, but at the core we all just want to feel the same. To be loved by someone who only wants the best for you, walking the trials of life side by side. Some say we choose who we love as if love doesn’t pop out of the darkest corner of your life, when you least expect it, and throws you into a magical spell that pulls you out of loneliness.
I’ve struggled my entire life with being comfortable in my own skin. I have purposefully distanced myself from people for the sake of trying to protect myself. It’s disheartening how one simple thing can change an individual’s opinion of you in a matter of seconds. It has taken me years to wake up every morning and tell myself that you are loved for you, the one that’s deep down inside that you’ve never truly let out.
I’ve been loved my whole life for what I did as a career, and it carried me for the longest time. Eventually though, it’s a bandage that covers a wound that needs fresh air to heal. You have to rip it off at some point if you truly want to get better. Shame has kept me quiet all these years, but Love has finally set me free.
You see, I was 23 years old and living out my childhood dream playing professional baseball in Cleveland. I dedicated all my energy into it, using it as my drug too numb what was really going on inside. Don’t get me wrong, I loved every moment of my playing days, and I would go the same route again if I had the chance (with one big change). But even with all the money, fancy cars, nice clothes and a little tiny bit of fame, I would go home every night wishing I could change. Deep down I wanted something more, I wanted to be loved not for what I did, but who I was.
I know most would say, “ you never really gave me a chance to love you for who you are because we didn’t know”. You’re right, I gave very few that chance. I’ve sat in many rooms, listened to conversations around me, sat in pews at church, and read posts that have led me to act otherwise. It’s hard listening to people talk about you without them knowing that the words they are saying are directed at you.
Today’s passage of the Respect for Marriage Act protects us to have the same rights and opportunities that each of you have. It protects the same benefits. It makes us equal to you. It allows Ryan Neitzel and I to come together and create something beautiful. It gives me the confidence to get engaged to the person I love (he said Yes!), to marry them. I have a wonderful fiance, who challenges me daily to become a better person. To live life authentically. One who I never deserved but blessed to have. Love you see, it’s for everyone.
I’m finally healing, and days like today are what helps me continue to grow into the person I’ve been all along, one I’ve locked up for 20 plus years.
Today I am Loved

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