Citing religious beliefs, at least five players of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays refused to wear uniforms that celebrate LGBTQ “Pride” month. The Rays were unveiling their special uniforms, which include a rainbow-colored patch on the jerseys and a special hat with a rainbow-themed logo.
This year, the Rays chose to follow the lead of the San Francisco Giants and modify their uniforms during June, which is referred to as “Pride” month in the LGBTQ community. The Giants unveiled their own “Pride” uniforms last June.
But promoting the rainbow flag was a step too far for Rays’ players Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs, and Ryan Thompson, who chose to peel off the LGBTQ logo from their jerseys and wear the standard team hat, rather than the rainbow-infused one.
Pitcher Jason Adam spoke for the players who refused to partake in the LGBTQ virtue signaling.
“A lot of it comes down to faith, to like a faith-based decision,” Adam told the Tampa Bay Times.
“So it’s a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved here. But when we put it on our bodies, I think a lot of guys decided that it’s just a lifestyle that maybe — not that they look down on anybody or think differently — it’s just that maybe we don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus, who’s encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from that behavior, just like [Jesus] encourages me as a heterosexual male to abstain from sex outside of the confines of marriage. It’s no different.”
The Rays organization chose to tout the fact that most of the players wore the special uniforms rather than ostracize the players who didn’t.
“Our Pride Nights continue to grow both in terms of visibility and participation,” Rays president Matt Silverman said in a statement. “By doing this, we extend an invitation not just for this game but for all of our games that the LGBTQ+ community is invited, welcomed and celebrated.”
But reaction from LGBTQ advocates focused not on the majority of the players and the team who did bow to LGBTQ pressure, but on the five players who didn’t.
Sam Blum, a reporter for The Athletic who reports on the Los Angeles Angels, called out Jason Adam.
“The quote from Rays pitcher Jason Adam in this story is so awful and stupid,” Blum tweeted.
What exactly was “stupid” about the Adam quote? Was it the fact he doesn’t “look down on anybody?” Or was it the fact that Adam boldly referenced Jesus?
San Francisco Chronicle editor Christina Kahrl objected to the fact that Adam had the audacity to refer to LGBTQ as a “lifestyle.”
“A person’s sexuality or gender is not a ‘lifestyle.’ Full stop,” Kahrl tweeted.
When, exactly, did it become forbidden to refer to the gay lifestyle as a lifestyle?
Data reporter for Insider Madison Hall wondered if players could opt out of other special-occasion uniforms.
“Out of curiosity, can players also refuse to wear military appreciation uniforms, mother’s day uniforms, or breast cancer awareness ones either?” Hall asked. “Or are players only allowed to say no when the LGBT community is involved?”
Was Hall similarly outraged when some players and managers opted out of standing for the national anthem in support of the neo-Marxist Black Lives Matter organization? Or does she only get upset when the LGBT community is involved?
The Tampa-based major-league team seems to have officially entered the world of “woke” politics. The Rays were also in the news last week after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a measure that would have given the team $35 million for a spring training facility after the team pledged to support the gun-grabbing advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting.
Professional baseball used to be a refuge in sports, a place where tradition and hard work were valued above subjective impressions. Now, it’s becoming just another professional sports swamp infested with “wokeness.”
At least there are a few players on the Tampa Bay Rays who are guided by principle instead of by media fads.
