Joe Valentine told his teammates that he had two moms and the sport didn't crumble; when rumors swirled around Mike Piazza, he had to hold a press conference to assure all of baseball (and its fans) that he wasn't gay.
It wasn't that long ago in baseball that former Atlanta Braves bigot pitcher John Rocker got away with making fun of gays and people with AIDS, and the sport press grilled NY
Yankee Met Mike Piazza about
rumors that he might be gay, so this is a refreshing story of openness and acceptance in Major League Baseball. (
OutSports):
In what some community leaders hail as progress against pro baseball's anti-gay image, a pitcher who is open about his two lesbian mothers has reported that they are a non-issue among his teammates.
"I haven't heard much," Cincinnati Reds pitcher Joe Valentine told the Chicago Tribune. "I thought it was going to be a little bit bigger deal, but I wasn't doing it because I wanted it to be a big deal. It was something I tried to do for my parents and for the gay community. They're a huge part of the population."
Valentine told Newsday reporter Jeff Pearlman about his biological mother Deb Valentine, and his other mother, Doreen Price, who raised him since his birth in Las Vegas in 1979. The couple has been together for 30 years.
"I've gotten good feedback [from teammates]," Valentine said. "A lot of guys said, 'That's pretty cool. That's a pretty awesome thing.' That's really it."
Brian Osler, director of the Gay and Lesbian Athletes Association, said he was pleased to hear about how the team has handled the news. "Professional baseball is more homophobic than most places, but I'm glad to see there's no reaction."
Note, there's a long way to go as there are no "out" pro baseball players that I'm aware of.
(Cross-posted at Pam's House Blend and Big Brass Blog)