All about Gay Baseball Days with MLB teams
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IN THE NEWS:
YOUNG AND OUT ON THE FIELD
Feature article in the L.A. Times about gay athletes in high school and college. Jul/07
MOVIE FEATURES GAY LEAF
"Breakfast with Scot," the first gay-themed film to be endorsed by the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs, is an official selection of the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept. 6-15, 2007) Jul/07
Major League Soccer's COLORADO RAPIDS PRIDE DAY
On August 11, 2007 the Colorado Rapids will host a Pride Day game vs. Houston Dynamo. Read the article in Outsports.com about the team's openly gay manager of premium seating and customer service. June/07
FORMER NBA CENTER JOHN AMAECHI COMES OUT
John Amaechi, who played 5 NBA seasons for Cleveland, Orlando and Utah, will come out publicly with the release of his tell-all memoir, Man in the Middle. What they're saying. Feb/07
BLUE JAYS "PUNK'D" WITH SAME-SEX WEDDING
After young Toronto Blue Jays players Russ Adams and Aaron Hill played a prank on pitchers Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett--suggesting their newfound friendship was a case of "Brokeback Mound"--they became the unwitting participants of a mock wedding, with a reception and cake, held in the Blue Jays spring training clubhouse. March 06
Just married! Russ + Aaron forever one!
SHERYL SWOOPS COMES OUT
WNBA superstar and three time Olympic gold medalist, Sheryl Swoops came out as a lesbian, becoming the highest profile team sports athlete to come out while still playing. ESPN article. October 05.
QUEER EYE FOR THE BOSTON RED SOX
The Queer Eye guys throw out the first pitch at Fenway Park. June 5/05.
MY TWO MOMS
Athletes with lesbian mothers: Cincinnati Reds pitcher Joe Valentine talks about his two moms. Merrimack College hockey player Peter Hams also has two moms. May 05.
| 2007/8 Major League Baseball Gay & Lesbian Days | |
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Out at Fenway Park
Contact PrideSportsBoston.com for info. Out at Fenway Park II attracted 1,000 LGBT fans on Thursday September 1, 2005. The 2004 event was attended by 500. |
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Out at the Ballgame
Out at the Ballgame 2007 will take place on Sunday July 15, 2007. Beginning in 2001, "Out at the Ballgame" is the longest-running "gay day" with a MLB team. This event is organized by the Chicago Free Press. |
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Gay Games Night
Gay Games Night took place on Friday July 21, 2006, during the Chicago Gay Games. As they say on the White Sox's TV brodcasts "You can put it on the board!" |
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Pride Night at Coors Field
As part of PrideFest, Friday June 23, 2006 was Pride Night at Coors Field. For info, see GLBT Center of Colorado. Note: Wednesday June 21st was Pride Day with the Colorado Rapids (Major League Soccer). (*We are unaware of a 2007 event at this time. Please contact us if you have info.*) |
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Gay Community Night at the Phillies
The 6th Annual Gay Community Night at the Phillies will take place on Tuesday August 19, 2008 vs. Washington Nationals. Previous events have featured the national anthem performed by the Delaware Rainbow Choral and the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus. For more information and to order tickets, see PhillyGayDays.com. For article and pics from past event, see Outsports.com. |
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Pittsburgh Pirates Pride Night
Saturday June 17, 2006 was Pittsburgh PrideFest 2006. In conjunction with that event was the 3rd annual Pride Night with the Pirates, presented by the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Pittsburgh. (*We are unaware of a 2007 event at this time. Please contact us if you have info.*) |
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Pride Night at Petco Park
The San Diego Padres host Pride Night at Petco Park on Sunday July 8, 2007. "San Diego Pride supporters and volunteers will be recognized for organizing the group event with a scoreboard welcome and the Gay Men's Chorus of San Diego will sing the National Anthem." See San Diego Padres website for event info and tickets. |
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LGBT Night Out
The 2008 LGBT Night Out will take place on Friday July 25, 2008. "...this special ticket package which includes a seat in the LGBT Night section as well as a pre-game party and free drink of your choice!" See www.sfgiants.com/specialevents for event info and tickets. |
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Toronto Blue Jays Pride Night
LGBT baseball fans were treated to a 6-3 victory over the KC Royals at the 3rd Annual Toronto Blue Jays Pride Night held on Friday August 25, 2006. Organized by gaybaseballdays.com, Team Toronto and with the support of other community groups, including LSBN Toronto and Big Mamma's Boy. Blue Jays Pride Night events in 2004 and 2005 attracted several hundred LGBT Jays fans and raised money for the Toronto Pride Committee. Special guests included Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall), Mark Tewksbury (Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer) and the Forte Men's Chorus. In 2006, the national anthems were performed by Billy Newton-Davis. Globe & Mail article: Gays and Jays to celebrate Pride Night |
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Night Out with the Nationals IV
Night Out at the Nationals IV takes place on Monday June 23, 2008 at the brand new Nationals Stadium. Over 2,000 people attended the event in 2007. The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington D.C. will sing the national anthem. Event organized by Team DC. Washington Blade article (w/photos): Gay baseball night draws 1,100 to RFK (2005)
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Major League Baseball is reaching out to the Gay and Lesbian Community
In recent years, a growing number of MLB teams have hosted gay and lesbian community events or groups, including the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals and Toronto Blue Jays. And others, such as the San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins and Baltimore Orioles, have hosted AIDS Awareness Days.
Homosexuality a hot button issue in baseball
Although only a couple of former MLB players (Glenn Burke and Billy Bean) and one umpire (Dave Pallone) have come out as gay, homosexuality is a hot button issue in baseball.
Recent years have seen: anti-gay comments by John Rocker, Todd Jones and others; Mike Piazza and Sandy Kofax's "I'm not gay" announcements; and Kaz Tadano's gay porn "issue;" John Smoltz's anti-gay marriage comments; and Ozzie Guillen's "fag" comment. For more, see Outsports.com's anti-gay slurs list.
Encouragingly, though, some players have acknowledged that there are likely gay players and, in a recent survey (Tribune Company, 2004), 74% said they would have "no problem" playing with a gay teammate.
Gaybaseballdays.com hopes to raise awareness of gay and lesbian community days with MLB teams, and encourage other teams to recognize their gay and lesbian fan base. We encourage individuals and community organizations to work with their local teams in organizing these events.
RECOMMENDED READING: GAYS IN SPORTS
• Jocks 2, profiles of gay athletes by Dan Woog • Going the Other Way, autobiography of gay former MLB player Billy Bean • Gay former MLB umpire Dave Pallone's autobiography Behind the Mask • David Kopay Story, the autobiography of gay former NFL player • The Front Runner, Patricia Nell Warren's novel about a gay coach and athlete Although we have not read these yet, here are some other books worth checking out: • Gay former NFL player Esera Tuaolo's autobiography, Alone in the Trenches: My Life as a Gay Man in the NFL. Tuaolo, his partner and their two kids, can also be seen in the HBO documentary All Abord! Rosie's Family Cruise, about the first-ever LGBT family cruise. Terrific, feel-good film. • Inside Out: Straight Talk from a Gay Jock, gold medal-winning Olympic swimmer (and current co-president of OutGames Montreal) Mark Tewksbury's autobiography • fiction and non-fiction book listings from Outsports.com |
For information, comments, questions or help, please e-mail:
help@gaybaseballdays.com
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Copyright. Site content & design by Mark Kari.
BREAKFAST WITH SCOT
A gay sportscaster finds himself and his partner the guardians of a flamboyant 11-year old boy named Scot. This family comedy will win hearts with its sweetness and likeability. DVD to be released in March/08. Official website |
GAY DAYS PICS:
Scott Thompson throws out the first pitch in Toronto, June '05.
A rainbow of fans in Toronto, June '04. Photo www.thesportsroadtrip.com
Fans at the first Night Out with the Nationals, July '05. Photo Rudy K. Lawidjaja/Washington Blade
Cubs fans in July '05. Photo by Jason Smith/Chicago Free Press.
Philly Phanatic and Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, and Phillies fans in August '05. Photos by Heddy Bergsman and Jim Peary from phillygaydays.com
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TAKE ME OUT, the 2003 Tony Award-winning best play by Richard Greenberg about a gay baseball player, has been produced at theatres across the U.S., Canada, England and Australia. Some upcoming productions:
Pittsburgh, PA: barebones productions
For info, reviews and links, see Take Me Out page. |
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Gay Sports Message Boards:
The Veteran: Outsports The Rookie: eQSpn Gay Sports Events Lists:
Links page |
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RAINBOW HOOPS NIGHT
with the RAPTORS Rainbow Hoops Night on February 23/07 was a big success, with over $500.00 raised for Rainbow Hoops, Toronto's lesbian-positive women's recreational basketball league.
Comments from attendees from the March 1/07 edition of xtra!
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