Thursday, May 23, 2002

The First Out Superstar....

In response to recent comments in the baseball world about the possibility of a queer Met, Salon has a cute take on the first out gay player.

The select bit:

I predict the major leaguer who breaks the lavender barrier will be a pretty big star, someone who can be confident that his teammates will stick with him despite any misgivings they might have. As Phillies manager Larry Bowa pointed out Tuesday, "If he hits .340 it probably would be easier than if he hits .220." If Sammy Sosa says, "I'm queer," the Chicago Cubs suddenly become a very gay-friendly bunch.

Still, it won't be easy. The first openly gay player will take some abuse from the opposition even if he doesn't take it from his teammates, and he'll probably take it from his teammates. Pioneers always have it rough.

On the other hand, unlike Jackie Robinson when he broke into the National League, he'll be lionized in the rest of the mainstream culture, not to mention becoming a full-on god in the gay community. He'll likely become the most famous baseball player in the world. Billy Bean thinks it would be financial suicide. I think it would be a gold mine.

The article makes the point that statistically -- even using the most conservative numbers regarding male homosexuals in the population -- every other team has at least one member who is gay.

They might even be amongst your favorite players.

And there is nothing wrong with that...

Click here to read it all.

posted by Bohica at 12:00 PM