Jeff Pearlman really likes writing about Mike Piazza.

I'm Spartacus!

Why should a gay player care that people know he's gay?

Is this another one of those topics where "MLB HAS A HOMOPHOBIA PROBLEM!" and nary a word is said about the NFL or NBA's problem.

the most pure and wholesome and revered among us—our baseball players

I thought the current generation of baseball players were drug-addled felonious cheaters. Or have we moved past the steroid era now?

Why should a gay player care that people know he's gay?

Why would any player (who has a lick of sense) want people to know any part of his love life?

edit. especially in the age of TMZ, on the DL and deadspin?

Or have we moved past the steroid era now?

Haven't you been watching the news? The "steroid era" is OVER! It's 1968 all over again! Stolen bases! Hitting and running! Productive outs! Just ignore that New Yankee Stadium and the fact that homers are up this year!

Why would any player (who has a lick of sense) want people to know any part of his love life?

You could be gay but not have a love life. Gays can be nerds too! I think the point is more standing up to bigotry than advertising anything that goes on in the bedroom.

The "steroid era" is OVER!

Considering Manny's still serving his suspension, that seems to have happened awfully quickly.

Yet here’s the mild shocker: In the aftermath of Bean’s announcement, a handful of high-profile big leaguers—Trevor Hoffman and Brad Ausmus among them—not only embraced Bean’s words, but spoke out on his behalf.

And why is that a mild shocker? There have been individuals very out-spoken on the other side of this issue, but not that many, and to throw all MLB players into the category that would not support this life-style is, well, kind of bigoted in its own narrow-minded way.

Is this another one of those topics where "MLB HAS A HOMOPHOBIA PROBLEM!" and nary a word is said about the NFL or NBA's problem.

To be fair, maybe he's just focusing on MLB because it's actually possible that a MLB player might come out of the closet, whereas there's no chance of it happening in the NBA or NFL. (I haven't RTFA, so maybe he makes this point explicitly.)

I am sure there are many players in consensual, loving, polygamous relationships.

I don't know what this means for the gay ones, but they ought to be able to have kept partners in every city too!

You have the opportunity to be more than a ballplayer; more than just another blah notation buried deep within the pages of the Baseball Encyclopedia. For every 10,000 Bill Brutons and Joe Sambitos, there’s a Curt Flood. For every 10,000 Paul Blairs and Jack Clarks, there’s a Robinson. The country’s ever-dwindling holdouts to logic are ready to see that homosexual doesn’t mean weird or strange or frightening. They are ready to see that the most pure and wholesome and revered among us—our baseball players—can be pure, wholesome, revered … and gay.

Well, yes. And a lot of teammates and fans would be just like Brad Ausmus and Trevor Hoffman and Brian Johnson.

And then again, a lot wouldn't. Any player contemplating this step should (and believe me, DOES) understand the full picture, which would include a lot of good things, but also a lot of hatred. It would, moreover, involved a lot of (perhaps unwanted) pressure, even if it was well-intentioned, for this player to have to be A Civil Rights Icon in his "spare time." Groups would want him to be a spokesperson. Media (sports & otherwise) would want interviews, at which he'd be asked the same questions over and over and over again. Every action on his part would be intensely scrutinized -- if he went out, if he was spotted with a one-night stand (horrors! a promiscuous ballplayer!) . . . . If he has a partner, that person would be put in the spotlight.

Who is this player? Is he a star who is used to handling the intense spotlight? Maybe this wouldn't seem that different. If he's a regular, this would be hugely different, and might affect his career. If he's a young player trying to establish himself, the distraction might well ruin his career -- just because hey, becoming a major leaguer is hard when you can do it with 100% concentration and not being on the cover of The Advocate and the subject of Page Six of the NY Post.

I'm all for it, believe me -- if the player involved is the right guy, knows what he is getting into, and is well-prepared for it. But it would not be all positive, and not even all the positives would be easy.

Considering Manny's still serving his suspension, that seems to have happened awfully quickly.

I thought Manny was suspended for having ED, which I thought was unusual, but who am I to question authority? Have I not been paying attention closely enough?

Why would any player (who has a lick of sense) want people to know any part of his love life?

If you are Derek Jeter and has a HoF-calibre love life, wouldn't you want the world to know?

Why shouldn't a gay Jeter flaunt it?

Manny has erectile dysfunction?

If you are Derek Jeter and has a HoF-caliber love life

Steve Garvey: Inner Circle LLHOF (Love Life Hall...)

Manny has erectile dysfunction?

Sure, why not? Prove he doesn't!


(Seriously, I'm just playing off the early reports that the steroid he was caught with a prescription for was used to treat ED.)

Seriously though... he is right. It would do a world of good for a gay athlete involved in organized sports at the top level to stand up. It would likely be tough, but being a leader usually is.

sam

i wouldn't be real too surprised if the guys on the team already know if their teammate is gay. especially these days

not sure that guys my age and younger would care real too particular much.

brad ausmus, of course ROOLZ

but yeah, any guy who comes out unless he's derek jeter or someone just like him is really gonna get a spotlight even more intense than jackie robinson got

Sam,

Seems like somebody who knows he will be walking away from the game soon is the ideal candidate. Make your announcement, put up with the crap that follows (though, I contend, it will not be the problem with teammates as long been surmised) to take one for the team and make the road infinitely easier for the next guy who comes along, then hang up the spikes.

but yeah, any guy who comes out unless he's derek jeter or someone just like him is really gonna get a spotlight even more intense than jackie robinson got

I don't think so, bbc. In fact, I think it will be anti-climactic. ESPN will run with it as long as they can, but the news will be greeted with a yawn, mostly. I will bet my baseball card collection that the player who comes out won't receive a tenth of the harassment Jackie got. It could be I'm just an optimist, though.

Didn't a recently-retired NBA guy come out of the closet last year? I remember an incongruous English accent.

i wouldn't be real too surprised if the guys on the team already know if their teammate is gay. especially these days

The guys on the team know who want to know, and especially whom the gay guys want to know. It doesn't take long in a workplace to separate out the co-workers who you can tell are going to be fine, and those who are not. You tell the former, and you just avoid the latter. And often (not always, but often) those in the latter group maintain their conscious ignorance because they just don't want to know. So everybody stays happy with what they do and don't want to know and acknowledge. I'd imagine it's the same way with gay athletes: teammates who are cool about it are told, either before or after they figure it out. Some of the rest never clue in, and the remainder stay in "don't ask, don't tell" mode.

but yeah, any guy who comes out unless he's derek jeter or someone just like him is really gonna get a spotlight even more intense than jackie robinson got

We do live in the internet/media firestorm age. And every gay rights group, on every issue from marriage to the military to ENDA, is going to want this guy to speak out for them, to headline a fundraiser, to be Mr. Gay Pride (good luck with that, since it comes around every June . . . .). It'll be a lot easier to be Mr. Gay Larry Doby than to be Mr. Gay Jackie Robinson.

I don't think so, bbc. In fact, I think it will be anti-climactic. ESPN will run with it as long as they can, but the news will be greeted with a yawn, mostly. I will bet my baseball card collection that the player who comes out won't receive a tenth of the harassment Jackie got. It could be I'm just an optimist, though.

I agree. Jackie led the way in crossing color lines. In contrast, this is one of the last thresholds for homosexuals to cross in society.

Didn't a recently-retired NBA guy come out of the closet last year? I remember an incongruous English accent.

John Amaechi.

John Amaechi also came out as one of the guys who didn't really like the sport he played but still was able to succeed as a pro because of his size and body type...despite the people around here who say such a thing is impossible.

Is this another one of those topics where "MLB HAS A HOMOPHOBIA PROBLEM!" and nary a word is said about the NFL or NBA's problem.

I think it's just a topic where Jeff Pearlman is a baseball writer and writes about baseball, using baseball-specific examples because those are the players he talks to, and then our attention is drawn to it because baseball articles tend to be linked on a baseball website.

Maybe many within the sport will speak of you in the manner Ken Griffey, Jr. spoke of Joe Valentine, a former Reds pitcher who was raised by lesbian parents. “I salute his mothers, and anything negative he’s gone through because of that is garbage,” Griffey said. “I would embrace a gay teammates just like I embrace straight teammates. Some of my closest friends are gay. It makes no difference to me. People are people.”

Interesting, I never heard about any of that.

I will bet my baseball card collection that the player who comes out won't receive a tenth of the harassment Jackie got. It could be I'm just an optimist, though.

Harassment? I agree with you on that -- the kinds of things Jackie faced at the park (and from opposing players) wouldn't be tolerated. The fans would be thrown out of the park, for one thing. But I bet he'd get as much homophobic hate mail as Jackie got racist mail, if not more. And the stuff that would be out there in the public domain -- on the internet, for example, in anonymous comment threads -- would be utterly vile. Whether the player could successfully manage to avoid seeing or hearing about most of that, who knows?

The other thing is that there so much more media now, and so many more different kinds of demands on a player's time -- that, I think, would be worse for Player G than it was for Jackie.

The other thing is that there so much more media now, and so many more different kinds of demands on a player's time -- that, I think, would be worse for Player G than it was for Jackie.

You may be right. I just think it's no longer acceptable to be a bigot the way it was in the 40's. They were still lynching people in the 40's. Emmit Till was still years in the future when Jackie was called up. Obama's campaign brought out a lot of the lunatics, but it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. I think we can be hopeful that the country isn't as hate-filled as we fear.

Is this another one of those topics where "MLB HAS A HOMOPHOBIA PROBLEM!" and nary a word is said about the NFL or NBA's problem.

"Baseball Think Factory"

John Amaechi also came out as one of the guys who didn't really like the sport he played but still was able to succeed as a pro because of his size and body type...despite the people around here who say such a thing is impossible.

That I did not know. I know he turned down a fat Lakers contract to stay with the Magic, but until rr tells me otherwise, I was just assuming that was because of not wanting to play with Mamba.

From perusing wikipedia, it looks like he got many positive comments from former teammates and opponents. (Excluding the Shavlik Randolph, "as long as you don't bring your gayness on me I'm fine.")

sam

i guess there are still plenty of people left who can't deal with gay

sigh

but you know times change and there is hope

can't remember if it was last year or the year before we were at the ballpark and they were announcing something about jackie robinson day and this white kid turns to his father and says - who is jackie robinson? his father sez - the first black man ever allowed to play baseball who started playing in 1947. kid looks at his dad like he's crazy and says - allowed? why couldn't he play before?

so youneverknow, maybe it will be cal ripkin or dale murphy or some other saint who comes out of the closet after he's retired or getting ready to retire and then people wil talktalktalk and figure out that gay people are people like, you know, people

That I did not know. I know he turned down a fat Lakers contract to stay with the Magic, but until rr tells me otherwise, I was just assuming that was because of not wanting to play with Mamba.

I was glad he didn't sign--Amaechi was not all that useful as a player at that point, although he seems like a great guy.

And I will leave the Kobe and Laker analyis to you and JC from here on out.

Seems like somebody who knows he will be walking away from the game soon is the ideal candidate. Make your announcement, put up with the crap that follows (though, I contend, it will not be the problem with teammates as long been surmised) to take one for the team and make the road infinitely easier for the next guy who comes along, then hang up the spikes.

This is what I was going to say. I will bet that when it happens, the guy will be a veteran relief pitcher or bench player who figures he can make his statement, play one year while dealing with the fallout and then walk away. And have a lifetime of speaking engagements and media requests in front of him, if he so desires.

And I will leave the Kobe and Laker analyis to you and JC from here on out.

C'mon RR. Never give up! Never surrender! What are BL and JC, a Hawks fan and a Knicks fan? You're better than that, man.

The guys on the team know who want to know, and especially whom the gay guys want to know. It doesn't take long in a workplace to separate out the co-workers who you can tell are going to be fine, and those who are not. You tell the former, and you just avoid the latter. And often (not always, but often) those in the latter group maintain their conscious ignorance because they just don't want to know.

This is how nearly every workplace I've ever been in works. However, I could see it getting a lot more complicated when the national media gets involved - plus I'm not sharing a locker room with my coworkers, and my coworkers all have law degrees and live in the Beltway yuppie bubble, where expressing unprovoked general hostility toward gays is deeply unfashionable.

And have a lifetime of speaking engagements and media requests in front of him, if he so desires.

That will help immeasurably. It's going to be a lot harder for an openly gay star jock to get most types of endorsements, though there's a lot of gay niche marketing out there.

I'm all for it, believe me -- if the player involved is the third baseman of the New York Mets. ;-

especially in the age of TMZ, on the DL and deadspin?

If anything, this is a reason to come out before a phone photo of you canoodling with your "personal trainer" shows up on the web. I mean, sheesh, Carlos Marmol can't even sit on a couch with his arm around an absolutely stunning woman without it finding its way into the scandal rags. What has America come to!!?

C'mon RR. Never give up! Never surrender! What are BL and JC, a Hawks fan and a Knicks fan? You're better than that, man.

Back from that three weeks in Cancun with Ryan's mom, I see.

Back from that three weeks in Cancun with Ryan's mom, I see.

Naw, man. No more Ryan's mom jokes. I don't want to get typecast. I want my career here to have legs.

Yet here’s the mild shocker: In the aftermath of Bean’s announcement, a handful of high-profile big leaguers—Trevor Hoffman and Brad Ausmus among them—not only embraced Bean’s words, but spoke out on his behalf.

Seems to me many self proclaimed "civil rights" liberals are so easily shocked in a bigoted kind of way. As if the rest of the world is some kind of Martian terrain to them.

Seems to me many self proclaimed "civil rights" liberals are so easily shocked in a bigoted kind of way. As if the rest of the world is some kind of Martian terrain to them.

While others don't mind being typecast at all!

but yeah, any guy who comes out unless he's derek jeter or someone just like him is really gonna get a spotlight even more intense than jackie robinson got

I'm sorry, but this is nutty. There are plenty of anti-gay people in the U.S., but the establishment is not only not anti-gay, but pro-gay. There would be no heckling by other teams -- any player on the opposing bench that tried would be suspended, fined, and verbally drawn and quartered. (This is the age of John Rocker, not Ben Chapman.) There would be no extra-baseball indignities, like not being allowed to eat with their teammates, or stay in the same hotels as their teammates, or the like. And, even if a bunch of teammates happened to be anti-gay, it would not be an "us against them" scenario, in which the straight players viewed it as "gay players taking our jobs away from us," the way many white players viewed integration.

Being gay is, I hear, not the easiest thing in our society, but it isn't in the same universe as being black in 1940s or 1950s America. The Lovings weren't just told that they couldn't receive favorable tax treatment for their relationship; they were run out of town on a rail.

(EDIT: and by "town," I mean "the entire state.")

so youneverknow, maybe it will be cal ripkin or dale murphy or some other saint who comes out of the closet after he's retired or getting ready to retire and then people wil talktalktalk and figure out that gay people are people like, you know, people

So it wasn't Kelly Ripken that Kevin Costner was in bed with?

The Lovings weren't just told that they couldn't receive favorable tax treatment for their relationship; they were run out of town on a rail.

Way to massively understate the legal ramifications of the discrimination against same-sex marriages in 44 states and by the federal government there, David. I grant you it is not a criminal act to get married as it was for the Lovings, but your point would stand better without the hyperbole.

And I agree with you that our hypothetical First Gay Player would not face the harassment that Jackie faced, as I've said above. But he would face other things that Jackie didn't, including the much greater potential for faceless, anonymous expressions of hatred to be communicated to and about him in the public domain. If you don't think coming face to PC screen with the threats and screeds he would confront would be unnerving at best, and frightening at worst, I suggest you are living in a too-comfortable and naive reality. And if you don't think he'd get at least as much hate mail as Jackie got, if not more, you're also kidding yourself. It's a bigger country now. It might not get into the park as much, and when it did it would get quickly ushered out. That's great. And it wouldn't come from opposing players, at least not overtly. That's also great. But don't kid yourself. This player would know the face of hatred.

Good points David, I do find it insulting to my intelligence when people claim that the gay struggle is akin to the struggle blacks faced in America. The two are not even close.

I find it mostly self serving for liberals of today to make this claim, they seem to carry deep guilt for not being able to march in the 60s or for not being able to oppose slavery in the 1800's. Pearlman says as much above. They want to create an impression there is an issue that is on par with black civil rights so they can feel every bit of a moral equal to prior generations and cure their own guilt. For protesting "the establishment" is the ultimate measure of being an enlightened human being, thus the great need to equate black rights with gay rights.

I find it mostly self serving for liberals of today to make this claim, they seem to carry deep guilt for not being able to march in the 60s or for not being able to oppose slavery in the 1800's.

Thank you, doctor. What is your hourly rate?

but the establishment is not only not anti-gay, but pro-gay.

heh.

I think thay saying something is 'akin' is not saying it is the same.

There are definite similarities... but no, it wouldn't be as bad as it was for Jackie. Times change, thankfully.

It would still be hard, but it won't start getting any better until someone starts the ball rolling.

Good points David, I do find it insulting to my intelligence when people claim that the gay struggle is akin to the struggle blacks faced in America. The two are not even close.

The fact is, it is conservatives who conflate them in making the same arguments against claims for LGBT equality on each and every front. Equal rights to serve in the military? The same arguments -- exactly -- are made against allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly that were made against integrating the armed forces in the 1940s. Antidiscrimination laws? The same arguments -- exactly -- are made against banning discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation that were made against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Marriage? The same arguments that were made to preserve antimiscegenation laws are now heard against same-sex marriage.

If conservatives (not all, but those who oppose LGBT civil rights initiatives) want us to stop using the arguments made by MLK, Jr., and Thurgood Marshall, maybe they should stop using the arguments made by John Stennis, George Wallace, and John W. Davis.

But he would face other things that Jackie didn't, including the much greater potential for faceless, anonymous expressions of hatred to be communicated to and about him in the public domain.

I'm not sure if this is true, but even if it turns out to be, it would be because "the public domain" is so much larger than Jackie's day, and not a reflection of the attitude of society.

Before internet chatrooms, blogs and message boards, much of the opinion expressed on them would be water cooler fodder which hypothetical gay Robinson wouldn't get to hear. He surely would be able to read hateful anonymous comments expressed on the internet, but on the other hand he would get to read many supportive or at least reasonable comments from many of the same anonymous forums.

I find it mostly self serving for liberals of today to make this claim, they seem to carry deep guilt for not being able to march in the 60s or for not being able to oppose slavery in the 1800's. Pearlman says as much above. They want to create an impression there is an issue that is on par with black civil rights so they can feel every bit of a moral equal to prior generations and cure their own guilt. For protesting "the establishment" is the ultimate measure of being an enlightened human being, thus the great need to equate black rights with gay rights.

Wow...you know, sometimes people just believe that civil rights are civil rights. And when they see members of their family or friends being treated as second class citizens, it bothers them. There really isn't a need or reason to compare and contrast as to which is "worse". "Social Conservatives" are ####### evil.

Society is totally pro gay. Anyone who disagrees is a tremendous faggot.

I just logged in to say that I'm very glad Shooty is back.

And now it's time to go home.

Carry on.

I'm not sure if this is true, but even if it turns out to be, it would be because "the public domain" is so much larger than Jackie's day, and not a reflection of the attitude of society.

Well, that's exactly right, the first part is the point I was trying to make: the public domain IS larger, and it would be unavoidable for the gay player to hear what the anonymous masses thought . . . a lot of which would be very ugly. I don't think he could avoid it -- he'd be asked about it in interviews, if nothing else.

But it's true he'd also see some good things, too.

Not sure what to do with 54. The guy who posted it has a Dodger blog; maybe it is his riff on Simersian satire.

i wouldn't be real too surprised if the guys on the team already know if their teammate is gay. especially

... when they are sucking their ####

54 makes more sense than 47, however.

It was my attempt to point how stupid the "society is pro gay" point was. It seems less clever now that I have to explain it.

I thought 54 was pretty strongly tongue in cheek and it made me laugh.

If anything, this is a reason to come out before a phone photo of you canoodling with your "personal trainer" shows up on the web. I mean, sheesh, Carlos Marmol can't even sit on a couch with his arm around an absolutely stunning woman without it finding its way into the scandal rags. What has America come to!!?

For me this would be one of the biggest reasons to come out as a gay ballplayer. Imagine your boyfriend not having to be a kept man. You could go out to dinner, actually have PDAs and do stuff as a couple, rather than just lie.

It's going to take a ballplayer who comes from a strong family background (i.e. the family knows and is fine with it), is a well respected player and probably someone in a committed, monogamous relationship (since Gay Ballplayer's follies on the road will no doubt be examined with a fine tooth comb). But it can be done.

Being gay is, I hear, not the easiest thing in our society, but it isn't in the same universe as being black in 1940s or 1950s America. The Lovings weren't just told that they couldn't receive favorable tax treatment for their relationship; they were run out of town on a rail.

* On January 1, 2000, Jamie Ray Tolbert, age 24, was at a gay bar in Biloxi, Mississippi celebrating New Year's Eve. Brent David Kabat, 19, and Jeremy Shawn Bentley, 22, both of North Carolina, made Tolbert get into his vehicle and drive them across the state line into Alabama, where they beat and murdered him by strangulation and then tossed his body in the woods near Grand Bay, Alabama. After being tracked across the country thanks to their use of Tolbert's credit card, Kabat and Bentley were arrested 2 weeks later at a roadblock in Yreka, California. They were still driving Tolbert's Nissan Xterra. They told authorities the location of Tolbert's body.[100]
* On July 3, 2000, in Grant Town, West Virginia, Arthur "J.R." Warren was punched and kicked to death by two teenage boys who reportedly believed Warren had spread a rumor that he and one of the boys, David Allen Parker, had a sexual relationship. Warren's killers ran over his body to disguise the murder as a hit-and-run. Parker pleaded guilty and was sentenced to "life in prison with mercy", making him eligible for parole after 15 years.[101] His accomplice, Jared Wilson, was sentenced to 20 years.[102]
* On September 22, 2000, Ronald Gay entered a gay bar in Roanoke, Virginia and opened fire on the patrons, killing Danny Overstreet, 43 years old, and severely injuring six others. Ronald said he was angry over what his name now meant, and deeply upset that three of his sons had changed their surname. He claimed that he had been told by God to find and kill lesbians and gay men, describing himself as a "Christian Soldier working for my Lord;" Gay testified in court that "he wished he could have killed more fags," before several of the shooting victims as well as Danny Overstreet's family and friends.[103]
* On June 16, 2001, Fred Martinez, a transgender and two-spirit student was bludgeoned to death near Cortez, Colorado by 18-year-old Shaun Murphy, who reportedly bragged about attacking a "fag".[104][105]
* On June 12, 2002, Philip Walsted, a gay man, was fatally beaten with a baseball bat. According to prosecutors, the neo-Nazi views of Walsted's assailant's, David Higdon, led to what was originally a robbery escalating to murder. Higdon was sentenced to life in prison, plus an additional sentence for robbery.[106]
* The December 2002 homicide of Nizah Morris, a transwoman in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
* The killing of Gwen Araujo(1985 – 2002), a transwoman, by at least three men who were charged with committing a hate crime. Two were convicted of murder, the third manslaughter; however, the jury rejected the hate crime enhancement.
* On May 11, 2003, Sakia Gunn, a 15-year-old lesbian, was murdered in a hate crime in Newark, New Jersey. While waiting for a bus, Gunn and her friends were propositioned by two men. When the girls rejected their advances, declaring themselves to be lesbians, the men attacked them. One of the men, Richard McCullough, fatally stabbed Gunn. In exchange for his pleading guilty to several lesser crimes including aggravated manslaughter, prosecutors dropped murder charges against McCullough, who was sentenced to 20 years.[107][108]
* On June 17, 2003, Richie Phillips of Elizabethtown, Kentucky was killed by Joseph Cottrell. His body was later found in a suitcase in Rough River Lake. During his trial, two of Cottrell's relatives testified that he lured Phillips to his death, and killed him because he was gay.[109] Cottrell was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years in prison.[110]
* On July 23, 2003, Nireah Johnson and Brandie Coleman were shot to death by Paul Moore, when Moore learned after a sexual encounter that Johnson was transgender.[111] Moore then burned his victims' bodies. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to 120 years in prison.[112]
* On July 31, 2003, 37-year-old Glenn Kopitske was shot and stabbed in the back by 17-year-old Gary Hirte, a straight-A student, star athlete[113] and Eagle Scout,[114] in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. Prosecutors contended that Hirte murdered Kopitske to see if he could get away with it.[115] Hirte pleaded insanity, claiming he killed Kopitske in a murderous rage after a consensual sexual encounter with the victim, because he felt a homosexual act was "worse than murder". The 'temporary insanity' mitigation plea was not upheld, he was found guilty, and received a life sentence.
* On October 2, 2004, multiple assailants in Waverly, Ohio, attacked Daniel Fetty, a gay man who was hearing-impaired and homeless. Fetty was beaten, stomped, shoved nude into a garbage bin, impaled with a stick, and left for dead; he succumbed to his injuries the next day. Prosecuters alleged a hate crime. Three men received sentences ranging from seven years to life.
* On January 28, 2005, Ronnie Antonio Paris, a three-year-old boy living in Tampa, Florida, died due to brain injuries inflicted by his father, Ronnie Paris, Jr. According to his mother and other relatives, Ronnie Paris, Jr., repeatedly slammed his son into walls, slapped the child's head, and "boxed" him because he was concerned the child was gay and feared his son would grow up a sissy. Paris, Jr., was sentenced to thirty years in prison.[116][117]
* On February 27, 2005, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, 21-year-old James Maestas was assaulted outside a restaurant, then followed to a hotel and beaten unconscious by men who called him "faggot" during the attack. Although all of his attackers were charged with committing a hate crime, none was sentenced to prison.
* On March 11, 2005, Jason Gage, an openly gay man, was murdered in his Waterloo, Iowa, apartment by an assailant, Joseph Lawrence, who claimed Gage had made sexual advance to him. Gage was bludgeoned to death with a bottle, and stabbed in the neck, probably post-mortem, with a shard of glass.[118] Lawrence was sentenced to fifty years in prison.
* On February 2, 2006, 18-year-old Jacob D. Robida entered a bar in New Bedford, Massachusetts, confirmed that it was a gay bar, and then attacked patrons with a hatchet and a handgun, wounding three.[119] He fatally shot himself three days later.[120]
* On June 10, 2006, Kevin Aviance, a female impressionist, musician, and fashion designer, was robbed and beaten in Manhattan by a group of men who yelled anti-gay slurs at him. Four assailants pleaded guilty and received prison sentences.[121]
* On July 30, 2006, six men were attacked with baseball bats and knives after leaving the San Diego, California Gay Pride festival. One victim was injured so severely that he had to undergo extensive facial reconstructive surgery. Three men pleaded guilty in connection with the attacks and received prison sentences. A 15-year-old juvenile also pleaded guilty.[122][123]
* On August 18, 2006, an altercation occurred in Manhattan between a man and seven black lesbians from Newark, New Jersey. During the altercation, the man was stabbed. The women claim that they acted in self-defense after he screamed homophobic epithets, spit on them, and pulled one of their weaves off,[124] while he has described the attack as "a hate crime against a straight man."[125]
* On October 8, 2006, Michael Sandy was attacked by four young heterosexual men who lured him into meeting after chatting online, while they were looking for gay men to rob. He was struck by a car while trying to escape his attackers, and died five days later without regaining consciousness.[126][127]
* On February 27, 2007 in Detroit, Michigan Andrew Anthos, a 72-year-old disabled gay man was beaten with a lead pipe by a man who was shouting anti-gay names at him. Anthos died 10 days later in the hospital.[128]
* On March 15, 2007 in Wahneta, Florida, Ryan Keith Skipper, a 25 year old gay man was stabbed to death. Four suspects were arrested for the crime. The Sheriff is calling it a hate crime.[129]
* On May 12, 2007, Roberto Duncanson was murdered in Brooklyn, New York. He was stabbed to death by Omar Willock, who claimed Duncanson had flirted with him.[130]
* May 16, 2007, Sean William Kennedy, 20, was walking to his car from Brew's Bar in Greenville, SC when Andrew Moller, 18, got out of another car and approached Kennedy. Investigators said that Moller made a comment about Kennedy's sexual orientation, and threw a fatal punch because he didn't like the other man's sexual preference.[131]
* On December 8, 2007 25 year old gay man Nathaniel Salerno was attacked by four men on a Metro train in Washington, DC. The men called him faggot while they beat him.[132]
* In February 2008, transsexual Duanna Johnson was beaten by a police officer while she was held in the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center in Tennessee. Johnson said the officers reportedly called her a “faggot” and “he-she,” before and during the incident.[133][134] In November 2008, she was found dead in the street, reportedly gunned down by three unknown individuals.[135]
* On February 12, 2008, Lawrence "Larry" King, a 15 year old junior highschool student was shot by a classmate at E.O. Green School in Oxnard, California. He was taken off life support after doctors declared him brain dead on February 15.[136] According to Associated Press reports, "prosecutors have charged a 14-year-old classmate with premeditated murder with hate-crime and firearm-use enhancements".[137][138][139]
* In Rochester, New York on March 16, 2008 police say Lance Neve was beaten unconscious because Neve was gay. A man attacked Neve at a bar leaving him with a fractured skull, and a broken nose.[140] Jesse Parsons was sentenced to more than five years in prison for the assault.[141][142]
* In Baltimore County, Maryland on May 29, 2008 eighteen year old Steven Parrish—a member of the Young Swans subgroup of the Bloods—was murdered by Steven T. Hollis III and Juan L. Flythe after they found "gay messages" on his cell phone. They felt having a gay member would make their gang appear weak and that by killing Parrish they could prevent that perception.[143]
* 17 July 2008, In Colorado, 18 year old Angie Zapata was beaten to death two days after meeting Allen Ray Andrade. The case was prosecuted as a hate crime, and Andrade was found guilty of first degree murder on April 22 2009.[144]
* September 7, 2008 - Tony Randolph Hunter, 27, and his partner were attacked and beaten near a gay bar in Washington DC. Hunter later died from his injuries on September 18. Police are investigating it as a possible hate crime.[145][146]
* September 13, 2008 in Denver, Colorado 26 year old Nima Daivari was attacked by a man who called him faggot. The police that arrived on the scene refused to make a report of the attack.[147]

* September 15, 2008 - A Bourbonnais, Illinois elementary school bus driver was charged with leading a homophobic attack on a 10-year old student passenger. The boy was taunted by the driver who then encouraged other students to chase and beat the child.[148]

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney (DDA) Jay Boyarsky attributed a surge in anti-gay hate crimes, from 3 in 2007 to 14 in 2008, to controversy over Proposition 8. However, the DDA cautioned against reading too much from small statistical samples, pointing out that the vast majority of hate incidents don't get referred to the DA's office.[149]

* On November 7, 2008 in Newton, NC the home of openly gay Melvin Whistlehunt was destroyed by arsonists. Investigators found homophobic graffiti spray painted on the back of the house.[150]
* On November 14, 2008, transwoman Lateisha Green was shot and killed in Syracuse, NY because the alleged perpetrator thought she was gay.[151] Local news media reported the incident with her legal name, Moses "Teish" Cannon.[152]
* On December 7, 2008 Romel Sucuzhanya, a 31 year old straight Equadorean and his brother Jose, were attacked on a Brooklyn, New York street for appearing to be gay and for being Hispanic; they were walking arm-in-arm, which is normal for brothers in their culture. Romel later died from his injuries.[153]
* On December 12, 2008 in Richmond, California a 28 year old lesbian was kidnapped and gang raped by four men who made homophobic remarks during the attack.[154]
* On December 27, 2008 in Dayton, Ohio 24 year old Nathan Runkle was brutally assaulted outside a gay nightclub.[155]
* On February 15, 2009 in New York City Efosa Agbontaen and Branden McGillvery-Dummett were attacked by four young men with glass bottles and box cutters who used anti-gay slurs during the attack. Agbontaen and McGillvery-Dummett both required emergency room treatment for their injuries.[156]
* On February 18, 2009 two men were arrested in Stroudsburg, PA for the stabbing death of gay veteran Michael Goucher.[157]
* On March 1, 2009 in Galveston, Texas three men entered Roberts Lafitte bar and attacked patrons with rocks. One of the victims, Marc Bosaw, was sent to the emergency room to have twelve staples in his head.[158]
* On March 14, 2009 a gay couple leaving a concert in Newark, New Jersey were attacked by 15 teens. Josh Kehoe and Bobby Daniel Caldwell were called "faggots" and beaten. Caldwell suffered a broken jaw.[159]
* On March 23, 2009 in Seaside, Oregon two gay men were attacked and left lying unconscious on a local beach. The men regained consciousness and were treated at a nearby hospital.[160]
* On Monday, April 6, 2009, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, an 11 year old boy in Springfield, Massachusetts, hanged himself with an extension cord after being bullied all school year by his peers. His peers said he "acted feminine" and was gay. [161]
* On Saturday April 11, 2009 a gay man in Gloucester, Massachusetts was attacked and beaten by as many as six people outside a bar. Justin Goodwin, 36, of Salem suffered a shattered jaw, broken eye socket, broken nose and broken cheek bone.[162]

* The fatal stabbing of James Zappalorti (1945 – 1990), a gay Vietnam veteran.[81]
* The murder of Julio Rivera in New York City on July 2, 1990, by two men who beat him with a hammer and stabbed him with a knife because he was gay.[82]
* The killing of Paul Broussard (1968–1991), a Houston-area banker.[83]
* The murder of U.S. Navy Petty Officer Allen Schindler by a shipmate who stomped him to death in a public restroom in Japan on October 27, 1992.[84] Schindler had complained repeatedly about anti-gay harassment aboard ship.[84] The case became synonymous with the gays in the military debate that had been brewing in the United States culminating in the "Don't ask, don't tell" bill.[85]
* The 1993 rape and later murder of Brandon Teena, a transman who was killed when his birth gender was revealed by police to male friends of his.[86] The events leading to Mr. Teena's death were depicted in the movie Boys Don't Cry.[87]
* On March 9, 1995, Scott Amedure was murdered after revealing his attraction to his friend Jonathan Schmitz on a The Jenny Jones Show episode about secret crushes. Schmidtz purchased a shotgun to kill Amedure and did so after Amedure implied he still was attracted to him; Schmitz then turned himself in to police.[88][89]
* The murders of Roxanne Ellis and Michelle Abdill, a lesbian couple in Medford, Oregon, on December 4, 1995, by a man who said he had "no compassion" for bisexual or homosexual people.[90] Robert Acremant was convicted and sentenced to death by lethal injection.[91]
* The bombing of the Otherside Lounge, a lesbian nightclub in Atlanta, by Eric Robert Rudolph, the "Olympic Park Bomber," on February 21, 1997; five bar patrons were injured. In a statement released after he was sentenced to five consecutive life terms for his several bombings, Rudolph called homosexuality an "aberrant lifestyle".[92]
* The October 7, 1998, fatal attack on Matthew Shepard (1976 – 1998), a gay student, in Laramie, Wyoming. Shepard was tortured, beaten severely, tied to a fence, and abandoned; he was found 18 hours after the attack and succumbed to his injuries less than a week later, on October 12. His attackers, Russell Arthur Henderson and Aaron James McKinney, are both serving two consecutive life sentences in prison.[93]
* The July 1, 1999, murders of gay couple Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder by white supremacist brothers Matthew and Tyler Williams in Redding, California. Tyler Williams was sentenced to a minimum of 33 years in prison, to be served after his completion of a 21-year sentence for firebombing synagogues and an abortion clinic.[94] Benjamin Williams claimed that by killing the couple he was "obeying the laws of the Creator".[95] He committed suicide in 2003 while awaiting trial. Their former pastor described the brothers as "zealous in their faith" but "far from kooks".[96]
* The murder of U.S. Army Pfc. Barry Winchell on July 6, 1999, in Fort Campbell, Kentucky by fellow soldier Calvin Glover. Winchell was beaten to death with a baseball bat after rumors spread on base of his relationship with transgendered author Calpernia Addams. Glover was sentenced to life in prison.[97]
* The September 1999 murder of Steen Fenrich, apparently by his stepfather, john D. Fenrich, in Queens, New York. His dismembered remains were found in March 2001, with the phrase "gay ###### number one" scrawled on his skull along with his social security number. His stepfather fled from police while being interviewed, then committed suicide.[98]
* Oct 15th, 1999: Sissy "Charles" Bolden, Savannah, Georgia. Found shot to death. Police arrested Charles E. Wilkins, Jr., in July 2003; he admitted the killing, and was charged in two other homicides, according to the Savannah Police Department.[99]

Bernal once again proving the left has no ability to distinguish between 10 and 1000, hot and very hot. McDonalds coffee and the sun are both hot. Etc, etc...on and on.

BeanoCook proving once again that I made a mistake by taking him off ignore. Error corrected.

the establishment is not only not anti-gay, but pro-gay.

Would this "establishment" included the United States Congress, which passed the Defense of Marriage Act?

Bernal once again proving the left has no ability to distinguish between 10 and 1000, hot and very hot. McDonalds coffee and the sun are both hot. Etc, etc...on and on.

So... anti-gay violence is not "white hot sun" bad, just "McDonald's coffee" bad?

Sometimes, bad is just bad.

I forgot, Beano hates blacks and gays equally.

In my opinion, it is very naive to think that ballplayers would have no problem with a gay teammate. I think there are a lot of social conservative and religious baseball players who would have open hostility to a gay teammate, not to mention the the whole "gay person in the lockerroom" thing.

If a player came out of the closet, I would expect to see a lot of protests wherever he played (I mean, for chrissakes people go around protesting at gay people's funerals!).

I remember that Zapata case earlier this year. Reading a description of the murder made me physically ill.

69. Bernal Diaz has an angel on his shoulder. Posted: June 09, 2009 at 06:29 PM (#3211765)
I forgot, Beano hates blacks and gays equally.

Bernal, you are an ignorant (and inarticulate) buffoon.

Bernal, you are an ignorant (and inarticulate) buffoon.

And you are racist and a homophobe. Isn't this fun? I bet you beat your wife and kids too. And #### 12 year old Dominican boys in the ass. Don't all conservatives do that? Weeee, I can stereotype too!!!!

Some make the argument that Malcolm X made when it was brought to his attention that Italian and Irish immigrants were discriminated against. They can not run from their skin color, a European immigrant can can just change their name. A homosexual can just stay closeted. in 1942, A black man in Oxford is a black man in Oxford, MS, no matter his name.

I don't see how forcing someone to be someone they are not, be it either pretending to be attracted to the opposite sex, or changing the name your father gave you at birth, is acceptable at any level.

However, I don't really know why we have to break this down to note this discrimination is as bad as that discrimination. who gives a ####? This is a silly side argument that distracts from the real issue, a significant portion of Americans are not being treated fairly and justly.

The fact is, being openly gay closes the doors which are open for others.

I fully support the right of individuals to dislike gays or their lifestyle. I will not support the idea of our businesses, and especially our government, to deny its citizens opportunities it affords the rest of the population. It is simply wrong, and simply Unamerican.

Joe Morgan never said that Billy Beane should not have come out.

so youneverknow, maybe it will be cal ripkin or dale murphy or some other saint who comes out of the closet after he's retired or getting ready to retire

Or Grady Sizemore.

One thing I wonder about this question is how many gay male athletes there really are in team sports? Are we taking about more than 25-30 guys in all three major league sports? My understanding is tht gays make up about 3-5% of all men. I suspect gays in general are less interested in competing in football, basketball and baseball than the general male population. If so, they might be closer to 1% of the elites in team sports. With 750 guys in MLB, 1700 in the NFL, and 360 in the NBA, 1 percent would be about 28 guys -- not a whole lot.

Or Grady Sizemore.

Heh. Grady is definitely not gay. That said, #74 is exactly right, of course.

#77

No one really knows the true # as I've seen estimates all over the place and trust none of them. And, of course, you'd have to define gay first.

I suspect gays in general are less interested in competing in football, basketball and baseball than the general male population.

Anecdotally, I knew a guy who was the quarterback of a powerhouse Oklahoma high school football team who was gay and, closer to home, my uncle played football, baseball and boxed as an amateur in D.C. I know as many athletically minded gay men as I do gay men who aren't. Probably the same % of straight guys I know.

I know as many athletically minded ...

You should get some of them to play for the A's and ship out guys like Crust.

I don't think drafting that Green Day kid is going to help.

Or Grady Sizemore.

Tadano's video didn't cause him that many problems did it?

It provided ample opportunity for easy jokes, if nothing else.

I just named Sizemore because bbc has the hots for him.

Tadano's video didn't cause him that many problems did it?

Hey, the A's did give Tadano a shot.

Hey, the A's did give Tadano a shot.

And it was totally hot.

I just named Sizemore because bbc has the hots for him.

So, you have a death wish? I know a guy who had his girlfriend, um, appropriated by Mr. Sizemore. It's good to be a major leaguer. Even better, it's good my girl hates baseball and thinks ballplayers are all fat and icky. I have chosen well.

And it was totally hot.

Nice, but I set you up for the And it was money line. Come on, rLr, get your head in the game!

So, you have a death wish?

There's no "cause and effect" that could be pinned on me.

So, you have a death wish?

If he had a death wish, wouldn't he be implying that Brad Ausmus was gay? I seem to remember bbc having a bit of a crush on him.

Yeah, him too. Gay.

Even better, it's good my girl hates baseball and thinks ballplayers are all fat and icky. I have chosen well.

If she's your girlfriend, wouldn't fat and icky be her type?

Yeah, him too. Gay.

If I give you a list of all the women I think are hot, will you imply that they're gay? And coincidentally staying at the same beach resort suffering a record heat wave? That would be very cool of you.

If she's your girlfriend, wouldn't fat and icky be her type?

Hmm. I have no comeback for this. You bastard.

If anything, this is a reason to come out before a phone photo of you canoodling with your "personal trainer" shows up on the web.

That wasn't a mirror Arod was kissing - his personal trainer just happens to look a lot like him.

Hmm. I have no comeback for this. You bastard.

We Lounginites develop sharp elbows.

Why would any player (who has a lick of sense) want people to know any part of his love life?

edit. especially in the age of TMZ, on the DL and deadspin?

Do straight players not talk about their wives / partners? How they want to spend time with their families? Etc.

71. Ding-Dong, It's Barry's Head (Frent) Posted: June 09, 2009 at 06:44 PM (#3211787)
I remember that Zapata case earlier this year. Reading a description of the murder made me physically ill.

The killer, as is way too common in cases like this, also tried the temporary insanity defense.

And I agree with you that our hypothetical First Gay Player would not face the harassment that Jackie faced, as I've said above. But he would face other things that Jackie didn't, including the much greater potential for faceless, anonymous expressions of hatred to be communicated to and about him in the public domain. If you don't think coming face to PC screen with the threats and screeds he would confront would be unnerving at best, and frightening at worst, I suggest you are living in a too-comfortable and naive reality

This argument about what is worse, antigay bigotry or racial bigotry, is dumb from the start. Arguments over whether the first openly gay ballplayer would have it worse than Jackie Robinson are uber-dumb.

Obviously, if you were to put all of the acts and effects of racial bigotry in one pile, and all of the acts and effects of antigay bigotry in another, the racial bigotry pile is going to be way, way bigger. Both piles are getting larger every day, and right now, our society is a bit more focused on the antigay pile than usual because of Proposition 8, but it's obvious as to which pile is bigger.

As for Hypothetical First Gay Player, he would face something entirely different from what Robinson experienced, because it is not 1947. Of course Robinson was a big story then, but attention to something this sensational nowadays would be an elaborate multimedia circus the likes of which are unimaginable. That and the death threats, etc. Worse? I have no idea, and it's a fool's enterprise to make claims one way or the other.

I'm glad the old civil rights movement is over and there is no more need for such a civil rights movement.

Excellent post, Andre.

As for Hypothetical First Gay Player, he would face something entirely different from what Robinson experienced, because it is not 1947. Of course Robinson was a big story then, but attention to something this sensational nowadays would be an elaborate multimedia circus the likes of which are unimaginable. That and the death threats, etc. Worse? I have no idea, and it's a fool's enterprise to make claims one way or the other.

Isn't "fool's enterprise" part of this site's mission statement?