Bowler discloses homosexuality to PBA last week

Scott Norton didn't get much attention during the past pro bowling season despite the fact he might be the first attorney to win a PBA Tour title and his peers picked him as their top rookie.

The 29-year-old Californian figures to garner more of a spotlight this season after last week becoming what is believed to be the first active athlete in men's professional sports to declare he is gay.

"It wasn't easy, but it felt very good," Norton said of sending the full disclosure email to the Professional Bowlers Association on Thursday for posting at PBA.com.

"It was an oddly nerve-racking email. I looked at it and thought about my emotions. It was feeling the anxiety of coming out again.

"Up until (Thursday), I didn't feel a need to say, 'Hi, I'm Scott and I'm gay.'

"But it is something important to say. It doesn't need to be harped on, but it needs to be out there."

Norton said he was motivated by declarations that Phoenix Suns president and chief executive Rick Welts made about being gay in a May 15 article in the New York Times.

Welts, 58, is reportedly the first man in a prominent position in men's sports to publicly declare his homosexuality. He told the newspaper he wants to mentor other gay people who seek to pursue a career in sports.

"This is one of the last industries where the subject is off limits," Welts said. "Nobody's comfortable in engaging in a conversation."

Norton followed Welts' lead four days later.

"I hope I can make it easier for a young bowler who might be gay or for other gay professional athletes," he said.

The admission is another milestone in the past seven months for the attorney from Costa Mesa, Calif. His first PBA Tour title was won Nov. 5 in the World Series of Bowling at the South Point. That helped him win the rookie of the year award.

He said he thinks many touring professionals already had known of his lifestyle and were accepting.

"I don't wear my sexuality like a sash and tiara like some people,'' he said. ''If that's their way of expressing themselves, that's fine, it's just not for me."

He is prepared for a negative reaction from some PBA members and fans when the 2011-12 season opens Oct. 24 at the South Point.

"There might be some bigoted comments, absolutely," Norton said.

He said he has already heard them when people didn't know he was gay.

Norton was an All-America bowler at Fresno State and the University of Utah. He is the son of professional women's bowling Hall of Famer Virginia Norton and won the 1999 Junior National Championship and the 2000 U.S. Amateur title.

He delayed trying a full-time pro career while completing law school in 2010, a few months after winning the 2009 PBA Regional Players Invitational that gave him an exemption to compete full time on the PBA Tour the following year.

Contact reporter Jeff Wolf at jwolf@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0247.