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Five members of the Tampa Bay Rays refused to wear a rainbow-colored logo on their uniforms as part of the team’s annual “Pride Night” game.
Pitchers Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs, and Ryan Thompson opted out of wearing the temporarily updated logo during Saturday’s 3-2 loss against the Chicago White Sox.
Adam was chosen to explain their decision, citing religious reasons and a desire not to “encourage” the “behavior” of those in the LGBTQ+ community:
A lot of it comes down to faith, to like a faith-based decision. So it’s a hard decision. Because ultimately we all said what we want is them to know that all are welcome and loved here. But when we put it on our bodies, 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. It’s no different.It’s not judgmental. It’s not looking down. It’s just what we believe the lifestyle he’s encouraged us to live, for our good, not to withhold. But again, we love these men and women, we care about them, and we want them to feel safe and welcome here
The Rays were one of three teams, including the San Francisco Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers, to add LGBTQ+ Pride symbolism to their uniforms, yet both California teams were able to get full participation.
Rays President Matt Silverman addressed the team’s logo in a Sunday interview with the New York Times, saying, “I’m proud of the fact we did this and so many of our players chose to wear the logo.”
“I’m also proud of the conversations we had during the run-up to this night and in the aftermath,” he added. “That’s a really good byproduct of this: to be able to actually have these conversations is really valuable and rare.”
Team manager Kevin Cash similarly told the Tampa Bay Times that the players’ decision to wear their regular uniforms led to a “conversation” and not a division.
Cash added that the option to wear the Pride Night logo pushed the team to value “the different
Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, who chose to wear the rainbow logo, explained to the Tampa Bay Times that his parents had taught him to “love everyone as they are, go live your life, whatever your preferences are, go be you.”
“I can’t speak for everyone who’s in here, obviously, but this is a family-friendly environment here at a big-league ball field,” he said, adding, “We just want everyone to feel welcomed and included and cheer us on. No matter what your views on anything are.”