This past Saturday Tampa Bay Ray’s Pride Night inadvertently turned into a throwback night when one of five players who refused to wear a rainbow logo explained the decision because of the very date.
Rashmi has hosted Pride Night before, the latest 16th edition, but this year, they took an idea from the San Francisco Giants and added a rainbow logo to their uniforms for a game. The team intended it to be a voluntary exercise, and some players opted out: Ray pitcher Jason Adam, Brooks Rally, Jalen Bix, Jeffrey Springs and Ryan Thompson chose not to wear the rainbow logo for Saturday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. (Raley and Beeks were the only two who actually played.) After the game, the team spoke to Adam about the players who did not wear the patch. Try to find out what he is saying with this quote Tampa Bay Times:
“It all comes down to faith, to choosing a faith-based decision,” Adam said. “It simply came to our notice then. Because in the end we all said that what we want is for them to know that everyone here is welcome and loved. But when we put it in our body, I think a lot of guys have decided that it’s just a way of life – not that they make someone look down on them or think differently – it’s just that we don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus, who Encouraged us to live a life that would refrain from such behavior, just as (Jesus) encouraged me to abstain from sex outside of marriage as a heterosexual man. It’s nothing different.
“It simply came to our notice then. It’s not looking down. It is the lifestyle we believe he has encouraged us to live, for our good, not to hold back. But again, we love these men and women, we care for them and we want them to feel safe and welcome here. “
Using Jesus as a shield no longer works. He did not say! Also, that strategy was officially retired when Thom Brenman called himself a “man of faith” in the middle of his own career.
Even rhetorically, I don’t know how to follow it. So Adam and four other players did not want to wear the rainbow logo because of their beliefs, but the LGBTQ community welcomes and likes it at Ray’s Stadium, but wearing the logo supports a lifestyle that should not be encouraged or universally supported, but it is a judicial decision. And they think about the LGBTQ community — not just where they will publicly support it. Now that being an ally. One wonders what would have happened if a player had tried this kind of explanation to get out of wearing tactical chemo baseball socks.
The Dodgers and Giants have announced full player participation in their Pride Nights, but Ray has not been able to get there. Manager Kevin Cash said he did not expect the opt-outs to create any divisions in the clubhouse, instead stating that it “evaluates many conversations and different perspectives within the clubhouse but really appreciates the community we are trying.” Support here. “
What were the different perspectives there? What is the opposite of the “unconditional support of the LGBTQ community” that should be considered equal? In 2012, the idea of this kind of controversy was already hacked What Jason Adam said was just a repackaged point from a line of ignorant athletes in front of him. Former Detroit Tigers outfielder Tori Hunter said in 2012 that he would not play with a gay teammate because “in the Bible, it’s not right.” After Billy Bean, the second major-league player to appear in public, visited his clubhouse in 2015, then-Mets infielder Daniel Murphy said he “does not agree with Billy being a homosexual.” There is a truth, and a person is rejecting that truth. There is no room for disagreement.
At the time, Bin handled Murphy’s comments with a generous and realistic response. “When I took this job at MLB, I knew it would take time for many to receive the message of my inclusion,” he wrote for MLB.com. “It is not realistic to expect everyone to support us now. If you ask anyone who has competed in high-level men’s professional sport, I believe they will agree with me. It doesn’t change the way I run my business or my beliefs about what I’m doing, but it’s a reality. “
That was seven years ago. I’m not under the impression that Ray is defeating homophobia with an alternative logo, but more players are willing to embrace and support the message behind it. Meanwhile, a few holdouts use the same point of view that is as meaningful now as it was a decade ago.