ESPN: 5 Percent of MLB Players Know a Gay Player

Some interesting stats from an ESPN survey via Buzzfeed.

— Asked "do you know of any gay players?" only 5% (six players) said yes. "Yes, but that's as far as I want to go, even if this is anonymous," said one National Leaguer.

— 46% said they own a firearm — and these 51 players have a total of 258 guns. "Let me ask you something," says one pitcher. "If you were rich and famous and your salary was in the newspaper every week, would you worry about your wife and kids? That's why I have guns."

Meanwhile, the Washington Post makes note of rappers and athletes supporting marriage equality:

The move among straight guys in athletics and other ultra-manly arenas is reflective of a national trend that shows the majority of Americans support marriage rights for same-sex couples. But it is also indicative of the place of the “tough guy” in society, said sociologist Michael Kimmel, who directs the Center for the Study of Men and Masculinities at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

“They do the right thing even if nobody else supports them,” Kimmel said. “A tough guy also always stands up for the little guy. The tough guy isn’t a bully. The tough guy is righteous. Part of being a tough guy is standing up for the underdog — so I see it as perfectly consistent.”

Recently...
Detroit Tigers Pitcher Justin Verlander Says Gay Player Would Be Welcomed: VIDEO [tlrd]

Chicago Sports Legends Ernie Banks and Richard Dent Sign Letter Urging Illinois House to Pass Marriage Equality

As the marriage equality bill awaits consideration by the Illinois House, it's getting support from a couple of Chicago sports legends — Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and Bears Hall of Famer Richard Dent (below), as well as Bears linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer and former Bears and current Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Reads the letter:

“As professional athletes, we always played for the love of the game. The competition on the field - whether it was the football field or the baseball diamond - strengthened us and continues to do so. But for that competition to take place, there have to be rules and a code of behavior. Above all, players have to treat each other with fairness and with respect. Doing so doesn’t detract from the competition. It makes it better.

“We come from a variety of backgrounds, and we have played different sports for different teams. But one thing that binds us together is our belief in the importance of fairness and respect - in all aspects of life.

“In Illinois today, gay and lesbian couples who are in lifetime committed relationships do not have the freedom to marry. This violates our sense of fairness and respect. It also goes against the Golden Rule of treating others as you would like to be treated yourself.

“In sports, any time a player is not treated with fairness and respect, the game is diminished. Similarly, treating any group of people as second-class citizens hurts us all, because discrimination is wrong no matter whom the target is.

“For this reason, we believe that the Illinois General Assembly should act now and give same-sex couples the freedom to marry. It’s the right thing for Illinois; it’s the right thing to do, period.”

Sincerely,
Ernie Banks, Shortstop, Chicago Cubs (retired)
Richard Dent, Defensive End, Chicago Bears (retired)
Hunter Hillenmeyer, Linebacker, Chicago Bears (retired)
Brendon Ayanbadejo, Linebacker, Baltimore Ravens (formerly with the Chicago Bears)"

Detroit Tigers Pitcher Justin Verlander Says Gay Player Would Be Welcomed by the Team: VIDEO

CNN's Carol Costello was at spring training with the Detroit Tigers and sat down with pitcher Justin Verlander, asking him if there are gays in Major League Baseball and whether an openly gay player would be accepted.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Said Verlander: "I'm sure there are [gay players]. I think as with any sport, a gay player would probably be hesitant to come out, but the sheer number says there absolutely is."

Verlander added that a gay player would be welcome in the Tigers' clubhouse:

"Yeah, I don't see why not.  Given the right situation, and a team that's a family atmosphere, and I feel like we have that atmosphere here. I don't think one of our players would be scared to come out. We got 25 guys, it's a family, and our goal is to win a World Series. What your sexual orientation is, I don't see how that affects the ultimate goal of our family."

Costello then asked Verlander why he thinks there is so much controversy about it:

"I think it's a tricky subject because you start getting into locker rooms and walking around nude, or whatever. And I think that would be more of a tricky subject than anything. You know, your life decisions and sexual orientation - like I said, I don't think that plays any effect on what we're trying to do as a team, so I don't see why that would matter."

Added Verlander: "I wouldn't mind it."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Former Baseball Player Wants Gay Players To Spare His Feelings

In an op-ed that suggests he hasn't given much thought to the meaning of the words "discrimination," "prejudice," or "ignorance," former Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Mark Knudson (seen in this trading card, which can be made larger for more effect) argues that gay sportsmen should stay in the closet to spare homophobes the horror of being uncomfortable. 

No one has said that gays should not be allowed to play in the NFL. What has been said is that having a gay teammate would make some players uncomfortable. That's about their feelings. Feelings aren't right or wrong; they're just feelings. It’s telling someone their feelings are wrong that’s the real wrong.

So what's being debated here is not actual discrimination, but rather hurt feelings. Just because [retired out football player Esera Tuaolo] felt uncomfortable about his homosexuality inside a machismo-filled, heterosexual-dominated locker room does not mean he was denied any opportunities. In fact, he endured emotionally and has profited handsomely by taking full advantage of his talents and opportunities.

It's also important to consider that the heterosexual players involved have feelings, too, and they’'e no more or less valid than the feelings of those in the gay community. It's amazing how many people feel free to criticize and tell athletes how they are supposed to feel, as if that’s anyone else's right.

And here I thought the right-wing's "thought police" argument had been retired. And that Kenny Powers was just a fictional caricature from Eastbound & Down.

In all seriousness, though, this is not a surprising sentiment from a former baseball player: of all the major sports, it's America's pastime that remains the most opposed to marriage equality.

(Incredibly well-timed cartoon via The New Yorker.)

News: Mike Piazza, Wedding Cake, Hawaii, Boy Scouts

 Polish director Malgoska Szumowska's film, In The Name Of, takes on the Catholic Church.

 Former NY Mets catcher Mike Piazza addresses gay rumors in newly published memoir: “If I was gay, I’d be gay all the way.”

 Kim and Kanye hit up Rio.

 Lesbian couple denied wedding cake by anti-equality cake shop have accepted ”Ace of Cakes” star Duff Goldman's offer to provide them one for free on their big day.

 Justin Bieber made his SNL debut last night.

 Anti-gay group gets funding by the Canadian government: "...the federal government is providing $544,813 in funding for Crossroads Christian Communications — an Ontario-based evangelical group that produces television programming — to help dig wells, build latrines and promote hygiene awareness in Uganda through 2014."

 Madonna signs up for Instagram.

 HRC call to action on marriage equality in Hawaii: "The momentum for marriage equality in the Aloha State is on our side and the deadline for the legislature to hear the marriage bill is this Tuesday, February 12th. Join us on Monday, February 11^th at the Capitol Rotunda in Honolulu with hundreds of supporters making their voices heard by speaking face to face with their legislators."

 Steve Jobs aspired to create an iCar.

 Anti-gay group American Family Association announces a social media campaign to oust AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson from the board of the Boy Scouts of America: "He doesn’t espouse their values; he should move on.”

Tampa Bay Lightning Would Suppport An Openly Gay Teammate

The Tampa Bay Times reports that, according to a survey of players, the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team would support an openly gay teammate.

A couple of examples of supportive comments made by the 22 members of the NHL team who responded to the survey:

Center Steven Stamkos: "Not everyone has to agree with it, but if someone in our locker room you were a friend with would come out, for me, personally, I wouldn't have a problem with it. He's still a teammate. He still has your back on the ice. That's just the way it is."

Right Wing Teddy Purcell: "We're a team, a family. We don't look at anybody different like that. Everybody is different. Some guys like cars; some like trucks. You don't really care. As long as he's a good team guy and helps us win, we'll take anybody."

23 of the team's players were involved in the survey but one was not available to respond.

Retired Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling has also expressed his strong support for gay players. He tweeted:

“...I've never understood this 'issue' with gay players? Who cares? I know I played with some, their sexual orientation never had much to ... To do with how they hit with RISP, or pitched in late and close situations, why the hell would what they do in the bedroom ever matter?”