Over A Rainbow

Roger Cormier and Jesse Spector each have sour feelings bout the Mets' acquisition of a reliever who shunned Pride Night with the Rays; what's a fan to do when That Guy comes to your team?

Culture, Schmulture

By Roger Cormier

The Mets traded for a left-handed pitcher named Brooks Raley the other day. They need lefties in their bullpen (who doesn't?) so on paper, it's a good deal. But then there's the pesky aspect of what kind of human being Brooks Raley is.

Raley was one of the five Tampa Bay Rays last season who refused to wear a rainbow starburst patch on Pride Night. (He gave up two runs and hits. What a shame, that.) Pitcher Jason Adam was the spokesperson for the homophobes, claiming it was a "faith-based decision." 

It just goes to show you how empty the gesture of last year's Pride Night at Citi Field was, how cynical one should be about the Coca-Cola sign in rainbow colors for Pride Month and Pride Month only. That, for all of the talk about building a culture, Steve Cohen, Sandy Alderson, and Billy Eppler don't really care about character.

They let LGBTQ+ ally Taijuan Walker walk away to the rival Phillies, and leave another ally, Mark Canha, to deal with a teammate who is diametrically opposed to his beliefs. Will this cause Canha to be even more vocal for Pride Night next season? How will Raley respond this time? There will be a Pride Night next year, right? Stay tuned, I guess. 

I just wish that my fandom isn't tested so often against my morals. Queer people deserve all of the rights straight folks have. End of discussion. Hell, even the most partisan congress in U.S. history agrees with this. And yet my favorite team goes ahead and says they're cool with LGBTQ+ hate. And that is what it is: hate. Eat shit, favorite team of mine.