Phoenix Suns president and CEO Rick Welts submitted his resignation unexpectedly Friday after nine years of running the club’s business side, the Arizona Republic reports.
“The most important thing for me is to get my personal and professional lives better aligned,” Welts told the newspaper. “They’ve probably never been aligned. I’m 58 years old and it’s time to do that.”
Welts is believed to be the first man in a prominent position in men’s sports who is openly gay.
“This isn’t one of those departures to see greener pastures. It really is completely a personal situation,” Welts said Friday, according to the Republic. “These guys have been tremendously accommodating and any other inference than that is absolutely crazy.”
Four months ago, Welts announced in a New York Times story that he had recently met with friends and associates to reveal his homosexuality.
“This is one of the last industries where the subject is off-limits,” Welts told The Times in May. “Nobody’s comfortable in engaging in a conversation.”
At the time, Welts said he wanted to mentor other gay people who seek to pursue a career in sports. His immediate plans, he told the Republic, are to go on speaking engagements and possibly take an offer to write a book.
According to the Republic, Welts’ final work day with the Suns is Sept. 15. General counsel Jason Rowley will handle Welts’ duties on an interim basis.
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