A former St Louis Cardinals minor-league pitcher said he quit baseball after overhearing anti-gay conversations among coaches and team-mates.

Tyler Dunnington, who is gay, told Outsports.com that he had not yet come out when he pitched in rookie and Class A baseball in the Cardinals organization during the 2014 season, ultimately choosing to end his career after hearing the derogatory comments.

“I was also one of the unfortunate closeted gay athletes who experienced years of homophobia in the sport I loved,” Dunnington wrote in an email to Outsports.com. “I was able to take most of it with a grain of salt but towards the end of my career I could tell it was affecting my relationships with people, my performance, and my overall happiness.”

He added: “I experienced both coaches and players make remarks on killing gay people during my time in baseball, and each comment felt like a knife to my heart. I was miserable in a sport that used to give me life, and ultimately I decided I needed to hang up my cleats for my own sanity.”

Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak described the allegations of homophobic language as “very disappointing” and said he would look into it further.

“Our hope is that every player, staff member, and employee feels they are treated equally and fairly,” Mozeliak wrote in an email to MLB.com. “Given the nature of these allegations I will certainly look into this further as well as speak with Billy Bean of the commissioner’s office for further assistance on this matter … we will take this very seriously.”