A group of minor league baseball players revolted against their team’s insistence on promoting Pride month as it looked to celebrate its 11th annual Pride, with such widespread rejection of the themed game that the club was forced to cancel the game entirely. Along the way, the organization and its leading individuals made sure to throw the courageous athletes under the proverbial bus.
For context, the York Revolution, a Pennsylvania-based minor league affiliated with the MLB-aligned Atlantic League, saw 19 of its 28 players refuse to participate in any LGBT-themed game, such as rainbow-colored jerseys or the commensurate event that was to take place alongside the actual game itself. With such massive numbers of unavailable players, the club was forced to forfeit.
In announcing the game’s cancellation, statements made by the club and its president said they were ‘disappointed’ in the players for refusing to be ‘tolerant’ of the LGBT community and that, more than feeling bad for coercing players to celebrate something which they do not support, apologized to his LGBT vendors and donated $10,000 to their various causes.
“It is with great disappointment and that the York Revolution have issued important changes to our 11th Annual Pride Night on Thursday, June 18th. Most significantly, the scheduled game between York and Southern Maryland will not be played and Pride will still be hosted as a free admission event. Everyone’s tickets for the game on Thursday will be treated as a rainout that can be redeemed for any future game,” a statement released to Facebook regarding the June 18th forfeiture said.
This decision was not reached lightly. Unfortunately, several of our players have refused to wear the scheduled Pride Night jersey and the club decided that hosting the event is more important than forcing players to wear jerseys they are not comfortable with and playing the game,” the statement continued.
“As a result, and out of respect for the Pride Community and the York community as a whole, the York Revolution has decided that the game on Thursday, June 18 will be forfeited and that Pride Night will continue on as the feature element of the evening at WellSpan Park,” the woke front office continued.
“We feel that this is the best way to stay consistent with our long-standing partnerships with the Rainbow Rose Center, JLS Automation and the long list of allies that have always been key partners of the York Revolution’s success in York, Pennsylvania,” it lamented.
“To be clear; this action by the players is completely inconsistent with our vision as the Most Welcoming Place in York. As a small token of our regret for the last-minute change of plans and support for our LGBTQIA+ representing partners we are making a $10,000 donation to the Rainbow Rose Center to support and further their work in making sure the York community is as inclusive as we strive to make WellSpan Park in York, Pennsylvania,” it finished.
“Please join us for a free and fun celebration of recognition and inclusion on June 18 starting at 5:30 at WellSpan Park. The event will end at 9:00 and will have limited concessions open. We will enjoy community, music and batting practice on the field. The York Revolution will return to the field at home on Friday, June 19th,” it added.
Speaking to NBC, President and General Manager of the Revolution Ben Shipley expressed his disappointment that his team was full of supposedly intolerant players, clearly lacking self-awareness that he was intolerant of them. “I’m disappointed that we’re at this point, and I recognize the players’ plight and their unwillingness to cross their line. I also think tolerance is not acceptance,” Shipley said to NBC News. “I was just asking for tolerance from the team, and they were unwilling to navigate that with me.”