By
Joseph McCombs and
Cyd Zeigler Jr.
Outsports.com
The festive
atmosphere of Gay Community Night at the Philadelphia
Phillies was interrupted Thursday night when two men
unfurled -- with permission of the team -- a banner covering a row of eight seats in the high
right-field stands that read, “Homosexuality is Sin. Christ
Can Set You Free.” Fans in nearby sections began to boo the
men; within minutes, some of the gay and lesbian fans in
sections 307 to 309 began approaching the two men and the
banner in section 303.
The
incident began in the fourth inning, and eight to 10 people
stood in front of the banner to block its view, a tactic
reminiscent of the “Angels of Peace,” whose giant angel
wings blocked the view of Rev. Fred Phelps’s protest signs
at the funeral service of Matthew Shepard. The two sign
holders were from Repent America, a fundamentalist Christian
group opposed to homosexuality. On
their website, Repent America claimed: "Phillies
Lose, Christians Win."
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| One of the
two anti-gay protesters, center, leaves the
stadium in the sixth inning
(Joseph McCombs
photo) |
Voices were
rising quickly and more and more people began approaching
the men during the incident in the fourth inning before
Philadelphia police and stadium security surrounded the
growing congregation. They told the offended fans that the
Phillies had decided that the two men and the banner should
stay, and dispersed all but one of the people surrounding
the men; that lone holdout refused to go and police resisted
using force to remove him.
Many of the
people in section 303, which is about 40 yards from the
sections where about 880 Gay Community Night attendees sat,
expressed outrage that the men would do this, and that the
Phillies would let them stay.
“They’ll
make the city look bad,” said Philadelphia resident Jamie
Huber of the Repent America representatives. “Philly’s not
like that. This is not the city’s opinion.” Other fans
nearby nodded in agreement.
Added
Phillie fan Stuart Alter, “They’re looking more silly than
anything else.”
James Duggan, who stood several rows in front of the sign,
told the Philadelphia Inquirer: "These people are false
Christians. I was told the Phillies' lawyers arranged this
with Repent America's lawyers, and I find that totally
offensive, too."
"It's
pretty clear under the Constitution, that if you're going to
have a gay community night, people have the right to express
another opinion," Mike Stiles, vice-president of operations
and administration for the Phillies, told the Inquirer. "We
understand it's distressing for some people to have to look
at that sign. We believe the leaders of the gay community
who arrange this night like any other group know what
they're going to have to put up with."
According
to event organizer Larry Felzer, this is the third straight
year that protestors from Repent America have come the Gay
Community Night and held the same or similar banner. The
previous two years, they had been ordered to remove the
sign. One of the men, Michael
Marcavage, has been there each year, according to the
Philadelphia Inquirer.
"My sense
is from the article that appeared in today's Inquirer, the
comments on the Phillies message boards and callers to WIP
(our sports talk radio station), that the Phillies' decision
to allow the banner to continue to hang is not being viewed
very favorably," Felzer said. "Most callers to WIP were
critical of allowing the banner to stay up and felt it
should have not been allowed to hang."
Guest Code
of Conduct at Citizen’s Bank Park, the Phillies’ home field,
says that “Guests must refrain from conduct that is
inconsistent with the fun, family atmosphere that should
prevail at Citizens Bank Park and the Citizens Bank Park
experience, including but not limited to: interfering with
other guests' ability to enjoy the game,” and goes on to
specify that “Banners and signs may not bear a message that
. . . is slanderous, [or] contains ‘fighting words’ likely
to provoke a breach of the peace.”
On its
website, Repent America detailed negotiations it had with
the Phillies. "Following a series of letters between L.
Theodore Hoppe, Jr., Repent America legal counsel, and
William Y. Webb, Vice-President, General Counsel, and
Secretary for the Phillies, earlier this month, RA was free
to display the banner from their stadium seats ... without
being ejected. 'We do not believe that wording would violate
the content requirements because it does not constitute
fighting words per se,' Mr. Webb confirmed in a letter dated
August 9, 2005." Phillies officials could not be reached for
comment.
But fan Tim
Monaghan said, “If they had the same sign behind home plate,
it’d be down in three minutes.”
"On a night when we didn't have
the gay community, we wouldn't necessarily permit a sign
like that," Stiles told the Inquirer. "A sign expressing an
objection to the war would not be permitted because it has
nothing to do with baseball."
Several
people wondered aloud what the Phillies’ policy would be if
someone brought a sign to Hispanic Heritage Night this Sept.
7 saying, “Hispanics are sinners;” or if a sign that read
“Being Asian is Being Evil” would be allowed to stand at
Asian Pacific Celebration Night.
Despite
holding a press credential, security prevented Outsports
from speaking to the two sign-holders for this article,
which raised questions of how concerned with the First
Amendment the Philadelphia Phillies organization really was.
When asked why, a security guard who had spoken to a police
officer about it said, simply, “because.”
The two
banner-holders remained silent throughout their presence.
Nevertheless, their close proximity to the LGBT contingent
was cause for concern, as was the park’s decision to allow
them to hold the sign, seemingly interrupting many of the
gay and straight fans’ enjoyment of the ballgame.
In the
sixth inning, when the two men folded their banner and
followed a security contingent out of the ballpark, about a
quarter of the stadium stood and applauded for about a
minute.
Cyd Zeigler
Jr., co-founder of Outsports.com, was invited to throw out
the ceremonial first pitch. While some wags cackled at the
prospects of Zeigler playing the pitcher role, he sent a
perfect strike into the glove of the Phillie Phanatic
mascot. In a further nod to the LGBT community, the
Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus was invited to sing the
National Anthem before the game.
As for the
game, the Phillies jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, aided by
a Chase Utley two-run homer, but the Washington Nationals
whittled away at the lead and won the game with two runs in
the eighth inning off reliever Ugueth Urbina. Outsports
favorite Pat Burrell, whose off-line throw from left field
allowed the fifth run to score, had a chance to redeem
himself in the bottom half of the inning, but hit into an
inning-ending double play. Washington held on for a 5-4
victory, salvaging a split in the doubleheader.
(Click
image for larger view)
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Cyd on the big screen
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The windup, the pitch ...
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Mission accomplished
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A Phanatic moment
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The Phanatic smothers Cyd in a post-pitch hug
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Gay Men's Chorus sings the National Anthem
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Cyd with writer Joe McCombs
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Cheering on her team
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GLBT fans show their muscle
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Support from a PFLAG mom
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About 880 fans bought tickets through the Gay Day promotion
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Enjoying the game
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Hey, who let Yankee fans in?
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Cyd with Tony ("Philly Runner"), left, and Joe ("Joe in Philly")
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Aug.
19, 2005
