Former 49ers trainer Lindsy McLean revealed in two publications this week what many team members knew for much of McLean's 24-year tenure with the 49ers: He is gay.
McLean, who retired from the 49ers before the 2003 training camp, opened up to ESPN The Magazine and the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat about his homosexuality and the ridicule he occasionally endured for it.
"It might be a mistake, but I feel comfortable with who I am, and I feel like I'm a good person," McLean told the Press-Democrat in Wednesday's editions. "So many people live in the closet their whole lives, and I think that's a terrible place to be.
" ... I don't think there's any way I could've publicly come out on the job," McLean added. "It would've been too uncomfortable for me and some of these players. It's hard enough for me to come out after I retired, but it's better than not doing it at all."
McLean declined an interview request from the Times, and 49ers director of publicity Kirk Reynolds said McLean felt uncomfortable with the attention he received Wednesday in the mainstream media and on sports-talk radio.
Although McLean hadn't before publicly discussed his sexual preference, it was widely known or suspected by team members and local media.
"Most people knew, but nobody really talked about it or made it a point of discussion," said Guy McIntyre, who played guard for the 49ers from 1984-93 and now is their director of player development. "It was speculation for a lot of people."
McIntyre said McLean, 65, recently told him of his plans to go public about being gay.
"It was something he wanted to do at this point in his life. I'm sure he didn't want to do it earlier because he didn't want to detract from the 49ers," McIntyre said. "He (recently) asked me, 'Did you know I was gay?' I knew, but it didn't bother me. It's his life and it never interfered with anything he did with me as a player."
McLean joined the 49ers as co-trainer in 1979 and became their head trainer in 1982. In the Feb. 16 issue of ESPN The Magazine, he discussed several instances of verbal abuse he received from other players during his time with the 49ers.
"They were cruel. They hurt. They made me feel ashamed," McLean told ESPN The Magazine.
He told how a defensive back refused to allow him to tape a pulled groin muscle; how an All-Pro guard said "that faggot trainer's not taking care of me"; how an injured running back repeatedly shouted "you (expletive) faggot"; and how a linebacker chastised him about not chasing women until McLean explained his lifestyle to him.
Reynolds said McLean was disappointed the ESPN article detailed so many negative incidents. "While negatives occurred, he said 95 percent of the players were unbelievable," Reynolds said. "He said (the ESPN article) made it sound like things were a pain, and that wasn't it at all."
Said McIntyre: "You've got to understand an atmosphere of a locker room. Anybody's a target, anything you do, any day, anything that's different. In the locker room, if you're thin-skinned, it's not the place to be. It was definitely a minority of people that had a problem with (McLean's being gay).
"Lindsy always was a pro," McIntyre added. "Certain people might have had difficulty with him because of his sexual orientation, but never me."
When 49ers running back Garrison Hearst made derogatory remarks about homosexuals during the 2002 season, McLean said he approached 49ers owner John York and volunteered to come forward and defend the organization, which offered health care benefits to same-sex partners since 1997. York reportedly said McLean's offer would be "beyond the call of duty."
"Garrison didn't know what he was talking about. That doesn't make him a bad person," McLean told ESPN The Magazine.
Hearst told ESPN the Magazine: "Lindsy's cool, man, very cool. ... His personal habit is his personal habit. It don't matter to me."
General manager Terry Donahue and coach Dennis Erickson did not return calls by the Times seeking comment.
Since his retirement last summer, McLean has helped establish the 49ers' Ed Block Courage House, the Edgewood Center in San Francisco, for families and youths who are neglected and abused. He lives in Redwood City with his partner of 24 years, a man who contracted HIV in 1985, McLean told ESPN The Magazine.
McLean, who retired from the 49ers before the 2003 training camp, opened up to ESPN The Magazine and the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat about his homosexuality and the ridicule he occasionally endured for it.
"It might be a mistake, but I feel comfortable with who I am, and I feel like I'm a good person," McLean told the Press-Democrat in Wednesday's editions. "So many people live in the closet their whole lives, and I think that's a terrible place to be.
" ... I don't think there's any way I could've publicly come out on the job," McLean added. "It would've been too uncomfortable for me and some of these players. It's hard enough for me to come out after I retired, but it's better than not doing it at all."
McLean declined an interview request from the Times, and 49ers director of publicity Kirk Reynolds said McLean felt uncomfortable with the attention he received Wednesday in the mainstream media and on sports-talk radio.
Although McLean hadn't before publicly discussed his sexual preference, it was widely known or suspected by team members and local media.
"Most people knew, but nobody really talked about it or made it a point of discussion," said Guy McIntyre, who played guard for the 49ers from 1984-93 and now is their director of player development. "It was speculation for a lot of people."
McIntyre said McLean, 65, recently told him of his plans to go public about being gay.
"It was something he wanted to do at this point in his life. I'm sure he didn't want to do it earlier because he didn't want to detract from the 49ers," McIntyre said. "He (recently) asked me, 'Did you know I was gay?' I knew, but it didn't bother me. It's his life and it never interfered with anything he did with me as a player."
McLean joined the 49ers as co-trainer in 1979 and became their head trainer in 1982. In the Feb. 16 issue of ESPN The Magazine, he discussed several instances of verbal abuse he received from other players during his time with the 49ers.
"They were cruel. They hurt. They made me feel ashamed," McLean told ESPN The Magazine.
He told how a defensive back refused to allow him to tape a pulled groin muscle; how an All-Pro guard said "that faggot trainer's not taking care of me"; how an injured running back repeatedly shouted "you (expletive) faggot"; and how a linebacker chastised him about not chasing women until McLean explained his lifestyle to him.
Reynolds said McLean was disappointed the ESPN article detailed so many negative incidents. "While negatives occurred, he said 95 percent of the players were unbelievable," Reynolds said. "He said (the ESPN article) made it sound like things were a pain, and that wasn't it at all."
Said McIntyre: "You've got to understand an atmosphere of a locker room. Anybody's a target, anything you do, any day, anything that's different. In the locker room, if you're thin-skinned, it's not the place to be. It was definitely a minority of people that had a problem with (McLean's being gay).
"Lindsy always was a pro," McIntyre added. "Certain people might have had difficulty with him because of his sexual orientation, but never me."
When 49ers running back Garrison Hearst made derogatory remarks about homosexuals during the 2002 season, McLean said he approached 49ers owner John York and volunteered to come forward and defend the organization, which offered health care benefits to same-sex partners since 1997. York reportedly said McLean's offer would be "beyond the call of duty."
"Garrison didn't know what he was talking about. That doesn't make him a bad person," McLean told ESPN The Magazine.
Hearst told ESPN the Magazine: "Lindsy's cool, man, very cool. ... His personal habit is his personal habit. It don't matter to me."
General manager Terry Donahue and coach Dennis Erickson did not return calls by the Times seeking comment.
Since his retirement last summer, McLean has helped establish the 49ers' Ed Block Courage House, the Edgewood Center in San Francisco, for families and youths who are neglected and abused. He lives in Redwood City with his partner of 24 years, a man who contracted HIV in 1985, McLean told ESPN The Magazine.
