Best gay blog. Towleroad Wins Award

Baseball Hub



04/19/2007


NY Mets Pitcher Noah Syndergaard Apologizes, Calls 'Fag' Slur a 'Little Mishap'

SynergaardNewly-acquired New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard, whose anti-gay tweet was revealed by the New York Daily News, apologized Tuesday at a press conference call organized by the Mets to introduce him.

Said Syndergaard:

“I had a little mishap on Twitter about a month ago, and it was just brought to my attention this morning. I’d just like to apologize for anything that was said. A buddy and I were having a little conversation. I had a poor attempt at humor and an even worse attempt at using a term I shouldn’t have used. I hope I didn’t offend anybody. I’m really sorry my first introduction to being a New York Met had to be like this.”

No word yet from MLB or the Mets on discipline for the pitcher.


Mets Pitcher Syndergaard Tweets Anti-Gay Slur: 'Nice Crocs Fag Lol'

Newly-acquired New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard tweeted and then deleted an anti-gay slur, the New York Daily News reports:

SynergaardRighthanded pitcher Noah Syndergaard, 20, acquired along with catcher Travis d'Arnaud in the deal that sent the Cy Young Award winner to the Blue Jays, tweets from the account @Noahsyndergaard.

On Dec. 9, this tweet appeared from that account: "@DMarze89 nice crocs f-- lol"

The tweet no longer appears on the timeline for the account.

A Mets spokesman said that the team was looking into the matter. The full context of the tweet was not immediately clear; Syndergaard might be available on a conference call introducing him and d'Arnaud on Tuesday.

In September, Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar received a three-game suspension with lost salary going to GLAAD and anti-homophobia sports group You Can Play for playing with the anti-gay slur "Maricon" painted in his eye black. Escobar was also instructed to undergo sensitivity training.

Syndergaard was acquired from the Blue Jays.


ESPN Poll Finds Baseball Players Oppose Marriage Equality, Abortion

SportsMarriage

With athletes like The Minnesota Vikings' Chris Kluwe, The Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash and even entire teams like the San Francisco 49ers coming out for LGBT equality, ESPN magazine decided to include a gay marriage question in a recent poll of professionals from all four major U.S. sports, baseball, basketball, football and hockey.

The findings show that a majority, 59.3%, of the 62 anonymous players asked support same-sex marriage, most of whom are in the National Hockey League. A majority of baseball and basketball players, however, voted no.

On a related "culture wars" note, baseball players are the only group in which a majority said they are pro-life.

SportsAbortion


Texas Rangers Pitcher Derek Holland Doesn't Know How Someone Posted a Homophobic Slur on His Twitter Account

Someone with access to Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland's Twitter account tweeted the message "ur a fag" at a heckler on Sunday after the heckler directed a tweet at Holland calling him a "waste of space."

The AP reports: Holland

Major League Baseball is investigating the post, which was quickly taken down. Holland, a Newark High School graduate, said Monday in Oakland he was either pitching at the time or in the dugout and he didn’t do it. He added that his fiancée, Lauren, is the only person he knows has access to his account and she told him she was not involved. He also checked with family members, who said they knew nothing about it.

“I honestly don’t know. I know it wasn’t myself,” Holland said. “I’ve talked to my family and my fiancee and they all said the exact same thing: It wasn’t them. I have no idea. All I know is MLB is taking care of it and they’re going to help me out and figure out who it was. I was blindsided by it. I had no idea.”

Texas Rangers general manager Jon Daniels called it unacceptable: "It’s not a term or a sentiment we endorse in any way. We asked Derek about it. He was not aware of it happening. He had been out during the game. We alerted MLB about it so while we’re doing our own investigation they can do one as well. We continue to follow up on that at this time. Derek says he didn’t do it. He’s not sure how it got out, obviously. That’s what we’re looking into.”

Last month Toronto Blue Jays player Yunel Escobar faced a three game suspension and was ordered to pay lost salary to GLAAD and the You Can Play Project, as well as undergo sensitivity training after he took the field wearing an anti-gay slur in his eye black.


News: Addicted To Love, In The Life, Discover, 'Honey'

1NewsIcon Joel Johnson, one of the men found guilty in the 2010 slaying of gay DC principal Brian Betts, is dead after being shot in the head. He was released from prison 15 months ago after completing an 18-month sentence.

Generalmills1NewsIcon Some General Mills shareholders are upset the cereal company is backing marriage equality in Minnesota. CEO Ken Powell, however, remains steadfast, telling the worry warts, "We see it as a business issue that's not good for our state, our employees and our company. We did not do it as a public relations move."

1NewsIcon Christopher Stoll, senior staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, breaks down the gay-related potential SCOTUS cases: "Depending on what the justices do over the next several weeks, marriage equality may soon be restored in California, the Court may be on its way to striking down a destructive and discriminatory law that denies federal benefits to every married same-sex couple in America, and an important precedent about same-sex domestic partners could be set."

1NewsIcon In The Life, a two-decade old public television series documenting the trials and tribulations of LGBT people, will close up shop come December. "ITLM has had the extraordinary privilege and responsibility of being the only newsmagazine to reflect the diversity of the LGBT communities, daring to tell stories other media outlets - both mainstream and LGBT - did not touch," said In The Life Media interim Executive Director Ellen Carton. ITLM co-chair Jayne Sherman remarked, "As the media organization that pioneered LGBT visibility on television,we believe ITLM played a significant role in this historic progress."

1NewsIcon What does it mean if a 4th century parchment claiming that Jesus, a man "too holy" for sex, was married is authenticated? Well, for one it means that millions of celibate priests have been living a lie for centuries.

1NewsIcon In the wake of Kevin McClatchy's coming out and baseball player Yunel Escobar's anti-gay eye black, CBS' Gregg Doyel looks at the culture of homophobia in the wide world of sports - and beyond: "...This country is evolving. Gays are elected officials. They teach school. They cannot oversee a pack of Boy Scouts, but they can openly serve in the U.S. military, they can get married (in certain states) and they can be clergy members (in certain faiths). But they can't play in the NFL, the NBA or Major League Baseball -- not without fear of being ostracized in a culture where anti-gay sentiment is so prominent that a player wrote a homosexual slur on his own face."

Wolvie21NewsIcon A shirtless Hugh Jackman is all muscle, claws and veins in the first still from The Wolverine.

1NewsIcon For good measure, here are some more shots of a shirtless Hugh Jackman - this time on a beach!

1NewsIcon Andrew Sullivan says President Obama will become Ronald Reagan if reelected: "If Obama wins, to put it bluntly, he will become the Democrats’ Reagan. The narrative writes itself. He will emerge as an iconic figure who struggled through a recession and a terrorized world, reshaping the economy within it, passing universal health care, strafing the ranks of al-Qaeda, presiding over a civil-rights revolution, and then enjoying the fruits of the recovery."

1NewsIcon Lady Gaga doesn't give a hoot what the Pope says about marriage equality. ""I think that gay marriage is going to happen. It must. We are not actually equal -- humanity -- if we are not allowed to freely love one another... What the Pope thinks of being gay does not matter to the world. It matters to the people who like the Pope and follow the Pope... It is not a reflection of all religious people."

1NewsIcon Stephen Saland, one of the Republican New York State Senators whose support for marriage equality brought down conservative fury, has been declared the winner in his tight GOP primary race.

1NewsIcon Payback: "Discover Bank will pay millions in fees to settle accusations by U.S. regulators that it pressured credit card customers to buy costly add-on services like payment protection and credit monitoring. Discover, the sixth-biggest U.S. credit card issuer, will pay a $14 million fine and refund $200 million directly to more than 3.5 million customers, federal authorities said Monday."

1NewsIcon The hideous Family Research Council released a congressional scorecard on which LGBT-friendly politicos rank lowest, particularly if they're senators who approved openly gay federal judge Michael Fitzgerald's confirmation. "Mr. Fitzgerald has supported liberal activist organizations and worked to promote homosexual rights in the state of his judgeship," the group gripes.

1NewsIcon CNN puts President Obama about nine points ahead of Mitt Romney in the crucial state of Pennsylvania.

Rusty1NewsIcon Damn! One of the police officers who involved singer Fiona Apple's hash arrest does not approve of how Apple tried to call him and his colleagues out during a recent concert, so the officer, Drug Wars filmmaker and former Glenn Beck guest Rusty Fleming, wrote Apple a letter. This is how it opens: "First, Honey, I’m already more famous than you, I don’t need your help. However, it would appear that you need mine." Conservatives know how to throw shade with the best of them.

1NewsIcon Does Aaron Paul's girlfriend deserve all his love?

1NewsIcon The Chemistry Between Us claims that love is simply an addictive chemical imbalance. No word how specific it gets on same-sex sexing, but here's a summation on the straight, er, bits: "[The book] claim that sex tricks women into "babysitting" the men they love - nurturing them as they would their own infants, thanks to the goodly amounts of oxytocin released during the sex act by men hitting the cervix with their large penises and playing with their breasts."


Ozzie Guillen Defends Yunel Escobar's Anti-Gay Slur: 'In My House, We [Use] That Word Every 20 Seconds'

Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, who was punished in 2006 for making an anti-gay slur about Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti ("What a piece of [deleted] he is, [deleted] fag.''), reacted to a similar incident by Toronto Blue Jay shortstop Yunel Escobar this week.

Marlins_guillenGuillen defended Escobar:

On Tuesday, Guillen said he didn't think Escobar meant to be offensive.

"I think he just did it for fun. I know he didn't mean to hurt anybody's feelings. Nobody is that stupid," he said before the Marlins hosted Atlanta.

"In my house, we call (each other) that word every 20 seconds. I've got three kids," Guillen said. "For us, it's like 'What's up, bro? What's up, dude?' It's how you say it and to who you say it. But that's our country. We have to respect this country. Sometimes for us it's funny, for other people it's not."

Escobar received a three-game suspension and must pay his lost salary to GLAAD and the You Can Play project. He will also undergo sensitivity training. Perhaps Guillen should join him.





Towleroad - Blogged