BTW, Jesus Never Said Anything Against Being LGBTQ
If you're claiming "my faith" is why you're anti-gay, you'd be more honest if you just said "my homophobia"
I have nothing against those who may have a personal aversion to homosexuality. It’s a free country, and each of us is free to have our opinions. But to those of y’all attributing your anti-LGBTQ stance to your faith, it’s time to admit to the truth that you’re a hypocrite. You’re a homophobe who leans on your Christian “faith” as justification, even though Jesus Christ never preached against homosexuality.
This example of Christian hypocrisy is the problem I have with those members of the Tampa Bay Rays who declined to participate in the club’s Pride Night. In doing so, they disrespected those members of their fan base who may be LGBTQ.
Way to send a message telling LGBTQ fans that you think they’re “less than,” guys.
A number of Tampa Bay Rays players decided not to wear rainbow-colored logos on their uniforms as part of the team’s annual “Pride Night” on Saturday that recognized the LGBTQ community.
Reliever Jason Adam was among those who opted out, and said it was a “faith-based decision” for him.
“A lot of it comes down to faith, to like a faith-based decision,” Adam said, according to 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.”
No, it IS different, and it’s NOT a faith-based decision. There’s nothing “hard” about Adam’s decision. He’s merely being a hypocrite and using his faith to camouflage his homophobia. If he were a follower of Jesus Christ, he’d understand that Jesus never preached against homosexuality.
In fact, He was all about love, tolerance, acceptance, and charity, something about which Adam and his teammates could stand to learn a thing or six.
This controversy isn’t about claiming a moral or “faith-based” high ground. It’s about having the honesty to understand that what you’re claiming as justification for your homophobia makes you a hypocrite.
I don’t understand why the Rays organization made wearing the Pride Night uniform optional. Usually, when a team wears a specially-designed uniform to mark a special occasion, every team member is required to wear it.
That’s why it’s called a “uniform,” right?? #DUH
The Rays erred in allowing five players to opt-out. If they didn’t want to wear the Pride Night uniform, they should’ve been fined a game’s pay and sent home. Instead, the team caved to their homophobia and created an issue where none needed to exist.
Wearing a Pride Night uniform does not constitute a player’s endorsement of homosexuality or the LGBTQ community. It’s a uniform that every player was supposed to wear that night. Instead, five players chose to indulge their homophobia, the Rays caved to them, and Major League Baseball did nothing in response.
This incident says much about where Major League Baseball stands on its alleged support for the LGBTQ community. Though MLB is happy to allow its teams to celebrate Pride Month, the league has a long way to go regarding equity and equality issues.
In MLB, as in most men’s professional sports leagues, there are no openly LGBTQ players. You have to go all the way back to Glenn Burke in the late ‘70s to find an openly gay ballplayer.
As for the Tampa Bay Rays, well…excellent work making a complete hash of what should’ve been a memorable evening. Instead, y’all allowed five homophobic players to hijack the proceedings to the point where the game became secondary.
And as for Jason Adam and any of the other players who tried to play the “Christian faith” card…your hypocrisy’s showing. I may be an atheist, but even I understand that Jesus preached nary a word against homosexuality. He was pretty big on love and tolerance, though.
Not that y’all probably understand much about that given your behavior, I suppose.
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