Several members of the Tampa Bay Rays organization are facing backlash over their refusal to wear the Pride logo on their uniforms this past weekend.
Saturday night was Tampa Bay’s “Pride Night” celebration, during which members of the Rays wore rainbow coloured lettering and logos. However 5 players opted not to wear the rainbow themed uniforms, citing religious beliefs as the reason for their refusal.
The five players in question were pitchers Jason Adams, Brooks Raley, Jalen Beeks, Ryan Thompson, and Jeffrey Springs. Manager Kevin Cash indicated that the players’ decision had been discussed in the clubhouse, and that the team understands their stance.
When asked about his choice to opt out of the Pride Night celebration, Jason Adam remarked “So it’s a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved here.”
He further added “But when we put it on our bodies, I think a lot of guys decided that it’s just a lifestyle that maybe — not that they look down on anybody or think differently — it’s just that maybe we don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus, who’s encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from that behavior, just like [Jesus] encourages me as a heterosexual male to abstain from sex outside of the confines of marriage. It’s no different.”
The reaction from the baseball and sports community was swift in the aftermath of the Tampa Bay Times story.
Attendance at Saturday’s event was a reported 19,452 which was above the Rays average of 16,868 fans. However, after news broke that several players opted out of the Pride Night event, attendance dropped to 11,162 for Sunday’s series finale.
Whether this was a case of it simply being a Saturday vs. Sunday afternoon game time, or whether the 5.7K dip in attendance was the result of several fans calling for a boycott of the Rays on social media remains to be seen.