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TORONTO: News and Photos
Blue Jays Pride Night: Thursday June 23, 2005
"In 2004, the Toronto Blue Jays were pleased to stand as the first professional sports team in Canada to actively reach out to the gay and lesbian community with a themed night at the ballpark as part of and in full support of Toronto's Pride Week. The Club is equally proud to have this event return as part of its 2005 schedule."
Left to right, Scott Thompson (My Fabulous Gay Wedding, Kids in the Hall) threw out the ceremonial first pitch; view of the game from the LGBT section; dancing fruit led the crowd in "YMCA." Over 700 members of the LGBT Community attended the event.
Gays and Jays to celebrate Pride Night
Globe & Mail, Thursday June 23, 2005
When the Blue Jays play host to the Baltimore Orioles tonight, the Toronto team will hold Pride Night, a themed game designed to attract gays and lesbians during the city's Pride Week.
"We have a responsibility to be representative of our community and to reach out to segments of our community and overall just be an inclusive organization," said Rob Godfrey, the Blue Jays senior vice-president of communications.
Friday June 25, 2004
Left to right, "Welcome Pride Toronto" shown on Jumbotron; Blue Jays president & CEO Paul Godfrey with Queer As Folk's Sharon Gless; Sharon Gless with Olympic gold medal-winner Mark Tewksbury; fans in gay & lesbian section on field level
Proud gay & lesbian friends, family and fans
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JAYS GO TO BAT FOR GAY & LESBIAN COMMUNITY
JUNE 25, 2004 - Rainbow flags were a-waving as the Toronto Blue Jays took the field on Friday June 25, 2004. The first-ever Pride Community Day with the Jays brought together over 600 people from the gay & lesbian community to watch the Jays defeat the Montreal Expos 3-1. The game was declared an Official Pride Week Event by the Toronto Pride Committee, who received a $1500.00 donation from the Toronto Blue Jays. Openly gay Canadian Olympic gold medalist Mark Tewksbury presented the cheque on behalf of the Jays. Queer As Folk star Sharon Gless threw out the ceremonial first pitch, a change-up, to Blue Jays mascot Ace. And the national anthem was sung by Simone Denny, who sings the theme song for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Although the game was only attended by 16,484 fans, they were polite in their applause when the message Welcome Pride Toronto was shown on the JumboTron in centre field. And when the dancing fruit (this year's Pride Toronto theme was Bursting with Fruit Flavour) came on the field to lead the crowd in YMCA and Take Me Out to the Ballgame, everyone was enthusiastic in their support. The day was a "symbolic gesture," according to Paul Godfrey, president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club. "We want the community to know that we are open and welcoming to all." He added, "We don't expect to hit a home run the first time, but we hope this will be a good start and that we can develop a base of support." Mr. Godfrey said the team only received a handful of negative calls and letters prior to the event, and that he answered these personally. The Jays join a growing list of Major League Baseball teams welcoming the gay and lesbian community. For info on these events, click events |
Toronto Blue Jays join list of teams hosting gay & lesbian community days
Outsports.com, July, 2004
On Friday June 25, 2004, the Toronto Blue Jays became a bit more colourful when they hosted their first ever Pride Community Day. Rainbow flags were waving at the SkyDome as over 600 fans from the gay and lesbian community watched the Blue Jays defeat the Montreal Expos 3-1.
Gay Day with the Blue Jays
Gay.com, July, 2004
But ya gotta give it up to the Jays. It was clear that this was Gay Day at the ballpark, a first for Canada. The team stressed the importance of reaching out to a market that had been traditionally ignored by major-league sports. As Brian Dower of Toronto Pride reminded me, it was a win/win. There was a significantly visible gay -- and hugely lesbian -- presence in the stands that night.
Show your pride
Official Blue Jays website, June 26, 2004
The Blue Jays recognized Pride Toronto, the largest gay community celebration in Canada and the third-largest in the world. The team sold tickets with a portion of the proceeds being directed back to Pride Toronto.
Former Olympian Mark Tewksbury made a check presentation on behalf of the Blue Jays, and Sharon Gless of Queer as Folk fame threw out the first pitch. The Canadian national anthem was sung by Simone Denny, who sings the theme song for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
The Toronto Blue Jays PRIDE Promotion Billed A Big Success
The Ultimate Sports Roadtrip (website), June 25, 2004
... the Blue Jays raised the bar in a big way. On Friday, June 25, the Blue Jays staged a "Gay Community Night" at Skydome, an official event on Toronto's week long Pride celebration.
Jays are proud to be reaching out to gay community
Toronto Star, June 25, 2004
Fans may be forgiven for confusion tonight, if during the Blue Jays 7:05 p.m. game against the Expos at the SkyDome there is a Jumbotron scoreboard proposal reading, "Terry, Will you marry me? Chris."
The head-scratching would arise from the fact it's a first Jays Pride Community Day, the first official event for gays ever hosted by a major pro sports team to be strictly tied in with other Pride Week activities. Thus, the aforementioned invitation to marriage could then have three possible gender combinations.
"It's an important event in the city and is accepted by most citizens," Jays president Paul Godfrey said. "Whether you're straight or gay, it's colourful and part of the fabric of the city. We are opening the doors and merely saying, `You are welcome.'"
Out at the Ballgame?
AlterHeros.com, June 25, 2004
(I looked in the) Pride Toronto Calendar of Events and sure enough, listed for Friday June 25, 2004 was “Out at the Ball Game” – an actual major league baseball game, between the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos, where celebrating Pride will be encouraged, not silenced.
Toronto Blue Jays Set "Gay Community Days" Promotion
Artvoice magazine (Buffalo), June 2004
There are no gay athletes who are openly gay and playing in the four major sports. And while much has been said about the culture of silence that still exists in locker rooms, even those walls are beginning to come down.
Nowhere has that been more evident than in Major League Baseball, where signs of change are happening, perhaps on the field but also off the field. By the end of the 2004 season, eight teams will have staged promotions to welcome the gay community to the yard, but the Toronto Blue Jays aim to raise the bar in a big way.
...and they're out!
fab Magazine (Toronto), Issue 243, June 2004
This is a huge step for a sports organization, and they know it. "The question isn’t why now, it’s why haven’t we done it until now," said Rob Godfrey, Senior VP of Communications and External Relations. "We’re doing what’s best for the organization, marketing-wise, and doing what’s right as a public trust."
It stands to reason that gays would love baseball. It’s a non-threatening team sport, with quite a few cute players. Hundreds of gays and lesbians in the GTA alone play softball and even people who aren’t fans can enjoy the game, which unfolds at a leisurely pace. Unlike other sports, or a play, or porn, baseball doesn’t demand one’s constant attention. It’s social, and when the SkyDome roof is open on a nice day, the whole affair is fabulous.
Swinging their bats
Hour (Montreal), April 22, 2004
I was awfully jealous that the Blue Jays beat Montreal to the punch when it announced last month they will host their first-ever Gay & Lesbian Community Day at Skydome on June 25, smack in the middle of Toronto's Gay Pride week, when the Jays will play - go figure - the Montreal Expos.
Welcoming the gay/lesbian community to watch a Blue Jays game shows baseball's commitment to promote social equality for all its fans.
Toronto SUN, Friday April 2, 2004
Call it Jay Pride Day. The Blue Jays game against the Montreal Expos will be promoted in the gay/lesbian community as Gay Community Day.
"We've always seen ourselves as an organization that is welcoming to everyone," said Rob Godfrey, who is in charge of marketing, sales, community and media relations for the Jays. "But until you make an effort to reach out, people don't know that you're open to every group."
Make It Jay Pride Day
Toronto SUN, Wednesday March 24, 2004
In a ground-breaking precedent among Toronto's professional sports franchises, the Blue Jays will be reaching out to the gay community this season.
"I think it's long overdue that we invite the gay community to partake and be involved with the Blue Jays, to encourage them to come to the ball park," Paul Godfrey, president and CEO of the Jays, said yesterday.
"We're making a first entry into the gay community to show our support to them to indicate we'd like them to come to the ball game and support what's going on," he said.
The event has been featured on many gay and lesbian sites, including: Xtra!, Fab, Outsports.com, Gaysports.com, 365gay.com, HALO (London, On), Cabbagetown Group Softball League (Toronto), Pride Center WNY (Buffalo), Gay Rochester, Gay & Lesbian Times (southern California) and others.
This event is listed on the City of Toronto's Events & Attractions list and on Tourism Toronto's Calendar of Events.
Pride Day with the Blue Jays has also been mentioned in: London (Ontario) Free Press, Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, L.A. Times, TSN, and others.
