Bean visiting MLB Teams

BornToRun

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mauidano said:
Important discussion today in Red Sox camp...
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/112713036/mlb-ambassador-for-inclusion-billy-bean-talks-about-acceptance-at-boston-red-sox-camp
 
Former MLB player Billy Bean speaking around the league about acceptance, inclusion and his experiences.  
This is great. Thanks for posting. It's nice to see the Sox supporting something like this so openly. It sends the right message and it's good to know the franchise I root for isn't guided by closed minded bigots.
 

djhb20

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Isn't he making the rounds of all MLB teams? I thought it was a league-wide thing, not a team decision.
 

BornToRun

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djhb20 said:
Isn't he making the rounds of all MLB teams? I thought it was a league-wide thing, not a team decision.
You very well could be right but the article stated that BC invited him to come to camp and speak to the players, coaches, and front office people. Even if it is being done with all 30 teams, it's still good to see.
 

djhb20

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Yeah, I saw that. But I was pretty sure I had read elsewhere (but can't find it now) that it was a league thing.

Either way, as you said...
 

86spike

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djhb20 said:
Yeah, I saw that. But I was pretty sure I had read elsewhere (but can't find it now) that it was a league thing.

Either way, as you said...
He made the same type of visit to the Mets (and Daniel Murphy said some homophobic shit about it).
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Bean's response to Murphy was pretty well done. In terms of what Murphy said, the silver lining is that he expressed his views in a way that left the door open for dialogue, and Bean used it that way. Homophobic, yes. But not exactly hate speech. Bean's ability to incorporate it into his message was deftly handled. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/111157814/billy-bean-opening-up-about-mets-visit-murphy-comments. Alderson, like Cherington, seemed to really be enbracing the opportunity.
 

ALiveH

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Sort of off-topic for this thread.  The fact is 1/3 of Americans believe society should not accept homosexuals (Pew Research poll 2013).  So, there's bound to be some pushback.  I thought the Bean / Murphy back-and-forth was handled amazingly well - very civil & classy dialogue. 
 
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The back and forth between Bean and Murphy is the kind of conversation that will ultimately produce more common ground than any other pattern of rhetoric, heated or otherwise.
 

reggiecleveland

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ALiveH said:
Sort of off-topic for this thread.  The fact is 1/3 of Americans believe society should not accept homosexuals (Pew Research poll 2013).  So, there's bound to be some pushback.  I thought the Bean / Murphy back-and-forth was handled amazingly well - very civil & classy dialogue. 
Nothing has changed faster in my lifetime. I would be shocked if the Christian community does not come up with a work around that allows them to be more tolerant. I bet in twenty years Christians will object to gays that are not married.
 

Homar

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It's not Christians as such who have trouble accepting LGBTQ folks, but rather Christian fundamentalists.  There are Christians, I'm one, who don't read the Bible literally.  I don't believe the world was created in 6 days, and I don't think that homosexuality is inherently sinful.  I don't want to turn this thread theological, but it's fundamentalism, reading the Bible literally, that has a deep problem with accepting gay and lesbian folks.  You can be Christian and affirm homosexuality, and there are thousands of us living around you who do so every day.  
 
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Homar said:
It's not Christians as such who have trouble accepting LGBTQ folks, but rather Christian fundamentalists.  There are Christians, I'm one, who don't read the Bible literally.  I don't believe the world was created in 6 days, and I don't think that homosexuality is inherently sinful.  I don't want to turn this thread theological, but it's fundamentalism, reading the Bible literally, that has a deep problem with accepting gay and lesbian folks.  You can be Christian and affirm homosexuality, and there are thousands of us living around you who do so every day.  
What he said. As the proud son of a preacher man - progressive, Episcopal - I myself am tired of the fundamentalists taking over what it is to be Christian. Fundamentalists of every stripe are a massive part of the world's problems, and share so many of the same principles with each other despite ther claim to "the true God."

Also - Go, Sox.
 

Leskanic's Thread

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Oh, well then, do we have a thread for you guys in P&G...
 
(To add something to the topic: everything about this is great. The fact Bean is open to doing this, the fact the teams are inviting him in, the fact that Murphy voiced dissent in a reasonably respectful way that opened the door for further dialogue. May this progress in MLB continue forward with minimal speed bumps along the way.)
 

Sprowl

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Bean has a good line on several controversial topics. One, he called out Murphy's offensive (to me, anyway) use of a term like "the gay lifestyle" (as if there were only one, and all gay people lived the same life), without smacking down Murphy himself. Second, he acknowledged that it took him many years to accept himself, and seems quite generous about giving others some time too.
 

mauidano

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The fact that we are finally having this discussion in such a closed environment such as professional baseball is a large step forward. There are and always will be Davidl Murphy's. Ignorance is part of the process of change. They are always entitled to their opinions. It creates discussion. I'm happy for that and the hope that we won't have to even have discussions in the near future. Equal rights for all.
 
M

MentalDisabldLst

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If Billy Bean wanted everyone to accept his ideas, why'd he write such a damn-fool book?!
 
/Joe Morgan
 

Van Everyman

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Good for Bean, Alderson, BC and everyone involved. Tho it's hard for me not to see this in the context of the League being acutely aware of how badly the Sam and Incognito situations played out in the NFL. The latter wasn't an issue around homosexuality per se but it was about how locker room culture can negatively impact the brand and, potentially, the League's bottom line in terms of opening them up to a charge of a hostile work environment.

Given that MLB is already in a bit of a fight to demonstrate its relevance to today's culture—and, as noted, there is likely a significant number of Christian conservatives like Murphy in its clubhouses—if nothing else, this is a preemptive strike against what I expect will be a big issue for all professional sports leagues in the coming years.
 

Plympton91

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You know what, wrong thread for V&N Musings.

I'm glad that Bean's message is being accepted in Baseball; discrimination in employment is always and everywhere irrational and wrong.