Thursday, April 4, 2013

Would Major League Baseball tolerate an openly gay player

By B. Crawford


A hot issue lately within politics and Major League Baseball has been the privileges of the gay and lesbian community; specifically, marriage rights. This is a subject that has been talked about for several years and will continue to be talked about for years to come. My individual opinion is that your personal life is personal and the courts should not need to be making decisions on this subject. Since political folks like to put their nose where it doesn't belong, there is no good reason to think they would shy away from the point.

There have been media men and women that have had the guts to ask questions on this subject to people within the game of baseball. Some players have managed to say something they would later regret. Some players have given an open answer about how they would feel if an openly gay teammate were to be in the same clubhouse environment as them. In all honesty, most players probably would not care too much but there will always be some that would treat that player differently. Whether that means declining to shower with them or possibly even ignoring them altogether, other players would make their opinions and judgments known.

In this day and age there is no reason for stupidity on this subject. In the world around us there are gay men and women that we interact with on a daily basis, whether we know it or not. The reality is that these men and women are no different than those that have Major League Baseball as their employer, except for maybe their salary. There is seriously no reason that they should have to live by a separate set of regulations than those of us that are straight.

Baseball, like all major sports, has players that live in a reality that the rest of us can't imagine. They make a lot of income for playing a game that they have played since they were children. They have a jock mentality that that really doesn't make for a great setting to come out and say that you are gay. Sadly enough, the first man to say he is gay is going to find out the hard way that this is a testosterone filled atmosphere where judgment would be pretty abrasive in a passive aggressive kind of way.

Major League Baseball would freely support that player and compliment him for his courage. Other players throughout the league would publicly praise him as well, but how that player would be treated in the years ahead would be what is most important. It would take a significant amount of courage to be the first to admit that you are openly gay. The reaction of the rest of the team and league would potentially depend in large part on how big of a name it is. Is it a bench player or is it a star? That will probably make a big difference in the reaction of other people.

Professional sports are behind the times on matters such as this, they have a long ways to go to catch up to reality. Ultimately, there will be a player that will say he is gay looking for nothing to change. That player will know going in that there will be judgment and ridicule for what he decides to do in his personal life. There are in all probability gay players in every pro sport today, those are just statistics talking. Players get the battle they would face and simply are not prepared to deal with it on a professional stage, there is too much money at stake. Major League Baseball will support anyone regardless of their sexual orientation, but behind the scenes we are a long ways away from this becoming an open subject matter within the game.




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