Robbie Cabral / Youth Voices Blog
The Arizona Diamondbacks have been a Phoenix staple ever since they came on the scene in 1998. Within the last 22 years there has been tremendous growth and change in the valley. With the growing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, many sports leagues have taken steps to acknowledge the community including Major League Baseball. The Arizona Diamondbacks are no different, the organization has evolved and celebrates its diverse group of team members. The franchise is a trailblazer in their own right with the creation of the D-backs for Change initiative.
A seat at the table
Nona Lee had already had an accomplished career prior to joining the Arizona Diamondbacks. Now in her 22nd season she is the team’s Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer. Like many LGBTQ+ individuals, starting work in the sports industry there can be hesitancy of fully living your own truth. While Nona was out in a prior job entering Major League Baseball was a whole other ballgame. Initially, she was cautious of the environment she was walking into “I was going into a male dominated environment not knowing what that meant,” she says while adding that she wasn’t necessarily in the closet but kept to herself and did her job. “I was really just there, doing my job.” Other individuals identifying with the community regardless of career, often think and worry how they should present themselves or respond when asked about their personal life in casual conversations in the workplace. Through time Nona grew more comfortable at the Diamondbacks and eventually embraced her own truth at work “I didn’t have the bandwidth to go back in the closet, I just had to be me.”