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Anger Over Tampa Bay Rays ‘Homophobic’ Players Who Say Jesus Christ Doesn’t Want Them to ‘Encourage’ LGBTQ ‘Lifestyle’

Five Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball players are being criticized for refusing to wear LGBTQ logos on their official uniforms as the team celebrates LGBTQ Pride Month.
“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,” said Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jason Adam, as TMZ reported.
“It’s no different,” he claimed, insisting it’s “faith-based,” and “a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved here.”
Telling a group of people that what they are is a “lifestyle” and a “behavior” led to anger against the team for allowing them to opt out but especially against all five players: Jason Adams, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs, and Ryan Thompson.
The New York Times adds that “by allowing the players to opt out of the promotion — and to use the platform to endorse an opposite viewpoint — the Rays undercut the message of inclusion they were trying to send. Words like ‘lifestyle’ and ‘behavior’ are widely known tropes often interpreted as a polite cover for condemning gay culture.”
The Rays lost to the Chicago White Sox 3-2 Saturday.
Today, we wear our #Pride on our sleeves pic.twitter.com/bcOLJNhx6Y
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 4, 2022
Many have expressed anger at the five players and the team’s management.
Fan since the start, may reconsider that after players peeled off the Pride logo
— Chazzy (@chazzy_16) June 6, 2022
Except for the minor Biblical fact that Jesus never said a fucking thing against lgbt people. @RaysBaseball https://t.co/SJoGLbdQe2
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) June 6, 2022
It just makes them look like assholes thats all
— will (@_W1II_) June 6, 2022
If your religious beliefs don’t allow you to wear a damn pride number on your jersey. Don’t give your fake performative bullshit of “we accept everyone” so Tampa bay rays please get fucked with your “wouldn’t allow it” fuckery. https://t.co/NDWr03hyP3
— 🌸CBQ 🌸 #IStandWithCoachWard (@Riss_Willett) June 5, 2022
i don’t normally tweet about baseball on here but im fucking wheezing. it’s pride night at tropicana field but the tampa bay rays made wearing the pride gear optional, so you can see which players on the field are homophobic pic.twitter.com/g5ouT8yA1w
— Kramer gets addicted to virtual yogurt. (@astermeter) June 4, 2022
I’m a big @RaysBaseball fan. This makes me sad & honestly a little angry. I will no longer be supporting these players anymore. https://t.co/CrUoBYphEB
— Garrie (G5150) (@_Garrie_) June 6, 2022
Giving homophobic players the opportunity to give this type of rhetoric a platform during pride month, grossss @RaysBaseball https://t.co/wZnqsGR3i5
— Katie (@KayTeeeOh) June 5, 2022
the tampa bay rays handed out free pride flags to everyone who attended the game yesterday, so the homophobia belongs strictly to those individual players https://t.co/gpVq4r0roq
— Catherine Tinker (@catherinetinker) June 6, 2022
Fan since the start, may reconsider that after players peeled off the Pride logo
— Chazzy (@chazzy_16) June 6, 2022
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