“I wouldn’t say it’s causing a barrier,” Bass said before he was cut by the Blue Jays last week. Last month, veteran reliever Anthony Bass expressed support on social media for anti-LGBTQ+ boycotts of Target and Bud Light, and then apologized for sharing the post on his Instagram stories.Īsked if MLB’s inclusivity efforts with the LGBTQ+ community had stalled, Bass referenced baseball’s “many different beliefs” and ”many different walks of life.” A couple hockey players also opted out of wearing rainbow-colored jerseys on Pride nights during the most recent NHL season. The objection to the Sisters, a group of mainly men who dress as nuns, comes a year after some Tampa Bay players cited their Christian faith in refusing to wear Pride jerseys. Washington pitcher Trevor Williams said he was deeply troubled by the team’s move, decrying what he felt was the group’s mockery of his Catholic religion. While Seattle slugger Julio Rodríguez, Chicago Cubs pitcher Marcus Stroman and Toronto pitcher Kevin Gausman are among a group of players who have publicly celebrated Pride Month, the Los Angeles Dodgers have faced criticism for including the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in the team’s upcoming 10th annual Pride Night on Friday.ĭodgers ace Clayton Kershaw disagreed with the decision but said his objection was based on the Sisters’ satirical portrayal of religious figures and had nothing to do with LGBTQ+ support. “It doesn’t matter what somebody’s sexuality is.” “If somebody in here called a meeting and came out as gay, I think everybody would embrace that, have their back and literally just move on and focus on winning the games, which is really the important thing and what matters,” Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich said. and Latin America where many view homosexuality as a sin.Īlmost 80 years after Jackie Robinson broke the majors’ color barrier in a landmark moment for the American Civil Rights Movement, the dueling expressions of LGBTQ+ support and pop-up opposition recalled the question of when MLB might welcome its first active openly gay player - a barrier already cleared by the NBA and NFL. That friction has been on display in recent seasons as MLB teams court the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month, simultaneously showing how much has changed and how much remains the same within the National Pastime - a sport with a strong connection to segments of the U.S. “Then there’s other days when I see some pushback, I’m reminded that we have 8,000 human beings connected to the sport as an athlete in one way or another, and you’re not going to always have 100% of those people agree on the same thing.” “There’s some parts of my job where I feel like some days I just, you know, I’m floating,” said Bean, a senior vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion with Major League Baseball. It’s also the lens through which Bean views baseball’s ongoing LGBTQ+ issues. It’s a message Bean has delivered in clubhouses, and it resonates with today’s ballplayers - hyper-focused on staying in the majors, and being a good teammate.
READ MORE: Pride organizers keep eye on drag laws ahead of festivals The regret of not sharing his “full self,” he says. Shielding his secret from teammates like Brad Ausmus and Torey Lovullo. CHICAGO (AP) - When it comes to baseball and LGBTQ+ inclusivity, Billy Bean often flashes back to his playing days.Įnding his career without telling his parents about his life as a closeted gay ballplayer.
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