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Cowardice in Baseball
and Other Stories
By
Mindy Tanner I’ve been following the circus involving Mike Piazza of the New York Mets, and all I have to say is that I’m kinda glad LA traded him. Great player, but no intestinal fortitude whatsoever. Now, don’t get me wrong, I like Piazza, but his mealy mouthed news conference “daringly” announcing that he is heterosexual (who cares?) after gay rumors about him surfaced in the New York Post took all the courage of a gnat. I know all about the “locker room” atmosphere in Big League baseball. I know about the institutional homophobia that lurks in baseball and other male-dominated sports (and it’s in women’s pro sports, too--look at the WNBA but what if Mike Piazza had just laughed off the gay rumor, and not said one word about it, or said, “That’s none of your business”? That would have taken MUCH more courage than rushing to hold a news conference in order to save his endorsements. My attitude about this situation is so what? I don’t think the majority of baseball fans give a rat’s ass about whether or not Piazza likes girls or boys. I think they are more concerned with more important issues, like the welfare of their kids, their finances, whether or not they are going to be the next victim of the recession by getting laid off. Whether or not some guy who gets overpaid for playing a child’s game is gay or not is not on their Top 10 list of important things to think about. On top of that sideshow, some idiotic sportswriter, Wallace Matthews formerly of the New York Post, had the titanic nerve to call the tactics of gay and lesbian activists “McCarthy-like”. Mr. Matthews, who are you? Now, I have very little faith in most mainstream sportswriters-- most of them prove their stupidity to me during their pathetic attempts at covering gymnastics--but that statement blew me away. Hey, buddy, step in MY shoes for a couple of seconds, especially during the homophobic 1980’s, and then tell me that outing wasn’t necessary in some cases. No, I don’t believe we should start outing people again, but if it wasn’t for that practice, I don’t think celebrities like Ellen Degeneres and Rosie O’Donnell would be opening the closet door today. Outing really was necessary at that time. If it wasn’t for outing, gay men and lesbians would still be in the position we were back in the early ‘90’s. Outing got everyone to talk about homosexuality, and about us. It also got some people to throw out their old, outdated stereotypes of what a gay man or a lesbian is. If youl remember, homophobia was widespread during the ‘80’s, especially the early ‘80’s. It was in the media, in the entertainment, in the music. It was everywhere. You couldn’t step outside a gay bar or other gay-owned establishment without getting targeted, either physically or verbally. Jokes were being made at the expense of gay men and lesbians, in movies, in songs, hell, there were even bumper stickers showing two male stick figures having anal sex with a red anti symbol over the scene that said “NO AIDS”. It was a horrible time to be gay. I know. I came out in the ‘80’s, and it sucked. I’m all for the right to privacy. I’m all for letting celebrities and athletes come out in their own time, and in their own way. I’m just pissed off at the selective loss of memory of the ’80’s and the AIDS epidemic. I’m pissed off at some stupid sports “journalist” who had the nerve to judge gay and lesbian activists who were acting from a place of desperation and anger at those who reap the benefits of what those activists had to fight and sometimes die for, and then don’t have the courage to be out and proud. I’m pissed off because this is still an issue in the 21st Century. June 2, 2002 |