At least one notable MLB pitcher was not pleased with the Tampa Bay Rays’ choice not to wear rainbow-colored insignia on Saturday for the team’s Pride Night.
After Rays pitchers Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs, and Ryan Thompson declined to wear the LGBT pride logo on their jerseys, claiming it was a faith-based decision, Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty expressed his feelings on Twitter.
Flaherty tweeted, “Absolute joke.”
In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Adam, who spoke on behalf of the group of five, sought to rationalize the choice by claiming that a lot of it comes down to faith.
“It’s a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved here. 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,” Adam explained.
Flaherty, on the other hand, was not convinced.
Kevin Kiermaier, a veteran Rays outfielder who wore the patch said that he wanted to build an inclusive attitude at the team’s ballpark.
