Sexuality and Major League Baseball

[Nimajneb]

The coming-out of retired NBA player John Amaechi once again brings this subject into the news... the response of pro sports fans and players to homosexuality and strong pressure to remain in the closet, as exhibited by the tendency for ballplayers to announce their orientation after retirement. Player response to Amaechi's revelation leaves little doubt as to why one might choose to keep one's orientation hidden. From the SI story linked above:

"For real? He's gay for real?'' said Philadelphia center Steven Hunter. "Nowadays it's proven that people can live double lives. I watch a lot of TV, so I see a lot of sick perverted stuff about married men running around with gay guys and all types of foolishness.''

Even so, Hunter said he would be fine with an openly gay teammate.

"As long as he don't make any advances toward me I'm fine with it,'' he said.

Or...

Injured Philadelphia Sixers forward Shavlik Randolph acknowledged it's a new situation.

"As long as you don't bring your gayness on me I'm fine,'' Randolph said. "As far as business-wise, I'm sure I could play with him. But I think it would create a little awkwardness in the locker room.''

"Bring your gayness on me"?? Are we middle-schoolers? But then these responses are fairly tame relative to what one might have expected even 10 years ago. The least "understanding" words, perhaps, have been those of LeBron James:

“We spend so much time together, we're like family,” James said. “You take showers together, you're on the bus, you talk about things. With teammates, you have to be trustworthy. If you're gay and you're not admitting that you are, you're not trustworthy. It's the locker room code; it's a trust factor.”

... a comment that leads me to wonder what rousing tales of his heterosexuality James has been sharing in the shower.

Former Major League Baseball players Glenn Burke and Billy Bean also came out of the closet post-retirement. Bean has been particularly outspoken since his announcement in '99, and has praised Amaechi's admission:

"I had heard rumors all week that an NBA player was coming out, and I was excited at the prospect that it was a current player. I had hoped it was a current player, so we could move the process along... That's not to diminish what John is doing and the generous decision he's made. He will have an impact on young athletes, especially basketball players. But honestly, it's a reminder that no [male athlete in a team sport] has made that decision while still an active player.''

Is baseball, or any male professional sport, ready for an active ballplayer admitting his homosexuality? How would players or teams respond, and perhaps even more to the point- how would you all respond to the matter?

For my own part, the issue is somewhat the reverse of the classical problem- I would have a hard time supporting a team or players who did not accept a gay teammate.

[DCFan]

Originally Posted by Nimajneb

Is baseball, or any male professional sport, ready for an active ballplayer admitting his homosexuality? How would players or teams respond, and perhaps even more to the point- how would you all respond to the matter?

It'll be nice to someday look beyond the labels and just deal with individuals. Why is it so important that we all have to be pigeonholed? I don't care if a pro athlete is gay, straight, bi, whatever as long as they obey the law of the land and stay out of trouble so that I can focus on their activities on the playing field and not their personal lives of which I could care less.

So I don't care who any player gets his luvin from as long as its legal and consenting and that when the ump says "play ball", they're ready to give me my moneys worth.

[Goose]

Gotta agree with DC. I could really care less about players personal lives, so long as it doesn't affect their performance on the field.

[nanwynnfan]

As long as the individual keep his private matters private, it's nobody's business, despite the alleged family intimacy of the locker room.

[TOOLS]

Originally Posted by DCFan

It'll be nice to someday look beyond the labels and just deal with individuals. Why is it so important that we all have to be pigeonholed? I don't care if a pro athlete is gay, straight, bi, whatever as long as they obey the law of the land and stay out of trouble so that I can focus on their activities on the playing field and not their personal lives of which I could care less.

So I don't care who any player gets his luvin from as long as its legal and consenting and that when the ump says "play ball", they're ready to give me my moneys worth.

I wonder what gay pigeons think about other pigeonholes.

There were a couple of gay grunts in Nam and, they also had balls for combat.
I'm straight and, I don't give a damn about this stuff.

[bedir than average]

Originally Posted by nanwynnfan

As long as the individual keep his private matters private, it's nobody's business, despite the alleged family intimacy of the locker room.

They already don't keep private matters private as every teammate knows who is sleeping with who and in how many cities. Unfortunately from my experiences in the lockerroom players in the NBA and only a slightly lesser extent in baseball are "players"

And that promiscuity is likely why many are fearful of a homosexual. They can't control their own urges, so how could someone else?

[Nocahoma]

If you ask me, anyone who has risen to the major league of any (major) sport has been elevated on a pedestal during most of their development. I would wager that very few have thought about life fro anyone else's perspective. I can easily see why a professional athlete might have antiquated ideas about this and many other social issues.

Oh, and Shavlik Randolph is covering.

TOOLS,
Interesting point. What movie was it where it was pointed out that the Greeks often encouraged homosexuality amongst their warriors? They had special troops who were encouraged to form long-term relationships, and those pairs were sent into battle together. It was thought that those couples would fight even harder if they were fighting for (and next to) someone they cared about.

As for your personal experience, I'd bet that anyone who had to repress their sexuality would be pretty well pissed off about it, and would thus make for one hell of a fighting machine.

Switching gears, I wonder how women's leagues handle this.

[bedir than average]

Noc, you are thinking of the Spartans. The Ottomans also had a certain level of this as well.

[Nimajneb]

Switching gears, I wonder how women's leagues handle this.

Judging by Sheryl Swoopes, Sue Wicks and Michele Van Gorp... "a shrug." It's difficult to make a comparison, given the relatively low profile of women's sports, but there certainly seems to be less stigma associated with a female professional athlete coming out of the closet (not that it's easy no matter one's fame and career).

[TheDreadedFoosa]

It's sad that the sports world are such a homophobic bunch. "As long as he doesn't bring his gayness on me" get over yourself, douche. I remember a few years back when Jeff Garcia's sexualtiy came into question right around the same time that Esera Tuaolo came out of the closet, and Garrison Hearst broke out with : "Aww, hell no! I don't want any (derogatory term) on my team. I know this might not be what people want to hear, but that's a punk. I don't want any (Derogatory term) in this locker room." And more recently Jeremy Shockey with his "No, I mean, if I knew there was a gay guy on my college football team, I probably wouldn't, you know, stand for it."

Shockey said, "You know, I think, you know, they're going to be in the shower with us and stuff, so I don't think that's gonna work. That's not gonna work, you know?" Uh yeah Jeremy, you need help, you know?

It's too bad that it's 2007 and people still can't just let people live their lives as they see fit

[DCFan]

Originally Posted by TheDreadedFoosa

It's too bad that it's 2007 and people still can't just let people live their lives as they see fit

Who's stopping them?

[Nocahoma]

Originally Posted by bedir than average

Noc, you are thinking of the Spartans. The Ottomans also had a certain level of this as well.

That's why I said "Greeks." That covers a couple of different city-states, since I didn't know which was involved (if not more than one).

I do pretty well on the CYA front, ya know.

[TheDreadedFoosa]

And then there's Tim Hardaway, who shows off his intelligence with this gem:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_yl...v=ap&type=lgns

[bedir than average]

I will now no longer watch Joes vs. Pros

[Lenny]

If I were a pro athlete, I would not feel comfortable with showering with a female, nor would I feel comfortable with showering with a homosexual. But then again, I'm not really sure I would feel comfortable showering with 24 other guys either.