Gay league can limit straight players

[cme1201]

The men said organizers told them, "This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series."

msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Gay-team-can-limit-straight-players-060211?GT1=39002

Seems to me that some groups believe that they and only they have certain rights to equality, yet they don't want the equality to extend both ways.

[Deleted]

Interesting.. I mean it is not Special Olympics, or male/female sports. Since I see gays as just people I don't get this. Gay is not about gender, or ability, or strength.. it's just a sexual preference. That said I don't see how gays can get a special sports thing just for them. I thought gays are equal??? Confusing to me.. I hope I live long enough to see "gay" not even be a word any more, if that makes sense to anybody.

[Deleted]

This rule is in place to make the orgy that takes place in the shower afterwards less complicated. I mean, who wants to ask "are you gay" every time you drop the soap?

[cme1201]

Jun 3, 2011 12:37:06 GMT -5 ArchietheDragon said:

This rule is in place to make the orgy that takes place in the shower afterwards less complicated. I mean, who wants to ask "are you gay" every time you drop the soap?

You are wrong on so many levels.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

This rule is in place to make the orgy that takes place in the shower afterwards less complicated. I mean, who wants to ask "are you gay" every time you drop the soap?

Reminds me of that Seinfeld bit when the student reporter from NYU thinks Jerry and George are gay partners.

[Deleted]

Not that there's anything wrong with it.

[Tennesseer]

Maybe the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association (NAGAAA) is made up of men who were not allowed to join or were kicked out of the Boy Scouts of America because they were gay.

[cme1201]

Jun 3, 2011 12:48:22 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Maybe the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association (NAGAAA) is made up of men who were not allowed to join or were kicked out of the Boy Scouts of America because they were gay.

Could be, though that is neither here nor there.

What would the outcry be if Pro Baseball had set policy that Gays could not be on the team because to some they aren't "manly" enough.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

The BSA is a religiously affiliated organization...not saying I agree or disagree.

[Tennesseer]

Softball Coach Says Church Banned Her Team Because She's Gay

6/16/2010

MEMPHIS, TN – Kicked out of the league because she's gay? A softball coach claims that's what a Cordova church did to her. Jana Jacobson believes Bellevue Baptist banned her team from the church’s league because she is gay. Jacobson said her team, comprised of both straight and gay athletes, registered to join Bellevue’s softball league after learning it was open to teams not affiliated with the church.
Jacobson said the team paid a $350 registration fee, and she attended a pre-season meeting before church ministers asked her to attend a follow-up meeting.

She said church leaders told her that “because of my deviant lifestyle, they could not allow us to participate in their league, because it would send a message to their congregation that they condone our lifestyle." She believes her personal life “shouldn’t be an issue.”

“We’re playing softball,” Jacobson said. “We’re a team of women in uniforms who want to play softball."

I called Bellevue Baptist to get their side of the story. The church's spokesman said “we have no plans to comment. And nobody is available to talk."

Will Batts is Executive Director of the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center, and a friend of Jacobson’s.

“I get that [Bellevue] has standards and rules, but this particular rule seems based on fear,” he said. “Based on the mission statement on their website, and what I understand Jesus to be about, that doesn't fit together with what they say they believe in -- which is love, God, loving other people as you would yourself, treat other people with respect and dignity. None of that has happened here."

He believes Jacobson was unfairly targeted.

"I think that if they made every player fill out a questionnaire and ask them if they'd ever had premarital sex or ever been divorced or ever lied or ever stolen -- if they made everyone go through the same process and say 'we've never done anything wrong,' then sure, I could see that,” he said. “But to single out one group is not right.

"This shows a level of intolerance we don't need in 2010."

Jacobson said her team only wanted more time on the field. Now they just want a refund.

"My team wants to play softball – that’s it,” she said. “We just wanted another league to play in. Nothing more."

www.abc24.com/news/local/story/Softball-Coach-Says-Church-Banned-Her-Team/hnCGM3GAIUqhuiEtMznx4w.cspx

[mmhmm]

Don't like it. Equality goes all ways. Gays cannot expect to get past the stigma that's been foisted upon them by the ignorant if they insist on upholding it themselves with exclusions like this one.

Edit: As to Tennesseer's post, which was being written at the same time mine was, the young woman should not be excluded if teams other than church teams are allowed, in my opinion.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

If it's a private league, it seems to me they can set their own rules.

A friend of mine plays in a redheads only softball league.

[swamp]

Dang, if they banned all the lesbians from the softball league I played in, about 1/2 the players (and also the best players) would be gone.

[mmhmm]

No doubt they CAN do it, Molly. The question is, should they do it? Is it conducive to the betterment of human relations and the promotion of tolerance? I think not.

[Deleted]

Jun 3, 2011 12:54:29 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

If it's a private league, it seems to me they can set their own rules.

A friend of mine plays in a redheads only softball league.

I don't understand all of these rules. It seems to me that a private organization can make their own rules, as long as it is not in violation of one of the federally protected classes. ie. a private restaurant can choose not to let you in the restaurant if you are shirtless or shoeless, but they can't bar you from entrance because you are Black.

Then again, private golf clubs don't have to let women in.


I don't get it.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 3, 2011 12:50:00 GMT -5 cme1201 said:

Jun 3, 2011 12:48:22 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Maybe the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association (NAGAAA) is made up of men who were not allowed to join or were kicked out of the Boy Scouts of America because they were gay.

Could be, though that is neither here nor there.

What would the outcry be if Pro Baseball had set policy that Gays could not be on the team because to some they aren't "manly" enough.

Of course it is here nor there. It is an organization that has membership rules. You cannot trash the exclusionary rules of one group and not the other. The Boy Scouts of America don't allow kids who profess to be atheists either.

And how many openly and active gay professional baseball players are there. If it were not a problem within professional sports, why are gay athletes so quiet about their orientation?

[henryclay]

I am appalled, , , appalled, I tell you.

But not at the funny farm participants. I am appalled that any straight would entertain the thought of being on such a team.

[cme1201]

Jun 3, 2011 12:53:02 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Don't like it. Equality goes all ways. Gays cannot expect to get past the stigma that's been foisted upon them by the ignorant if they insist on upholding it themselves with exclusions like this one.

Exactly.

As I said in the first post,

Seems to me that some groups believe that they and only they have certain rights to equality, yet they don't want the equality to extend both ways.

Tennesseer,

You are surprised that a Church didn't support gay's to play with them?

A church is not a legal body who sets precedent for certain rules that all must follow.

A gay softball association in the US can limit the number of heterosexual players on its teams, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

Through this ruling if allowed to stand, one could argue that there is no compelling reason to allow immigrants to work at an American Owned business,

US District Judge John Coughenour wrote in his ruling, "Plaintiffs have failed to argue that there is a compelling state interest in allowing heterosexuals to play gay softball."

If I am a 100% American Owned business what compelling reason is there for me to hire non Americana's? I am targeting a very specific group, not singling out a subset category.

Slippery slopes are slippery.

[Tennesseer]

I have zero problem with mixed orientation sports teams. You want the best players available regardless of orientation.

[Deleted]

For once I agree with mmhmm.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 3, 2011 13:00:29 GMT -5 cme1201 said:

Jun 3, 2011 12:53:02 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Don't like it. Equality goes all ways. Gays cannot expect to get past the stigma that's been foisted upon them by the ignorant if they insist on upholding it themselves with exclusions like this one.

Exactly.

As I said in the first post,

Seems to me that some groups believe that they and only they have certain rights to equality, yet they don't want the equality to extend both ways.

Tennesseer,

You are surprised that a Church didn't support gay's to play with them?

A church is not a legal body who sets precedent for certain rules that all must follow.

Through this ruling if allowed to stand, one could argue that there is no compelling reason to allow immigrants to work at an American Owned business,

US District Judge John Coughenour wrote in his ruling, "Plaintiffs have failed to argue that there is a compelling state interest in allowing heterosexuals to play gay softball."

If I am a 100% American Owned business what compelling reason is there for me to hire non Americana's? I am targeting a very specific group, not singling out a subset category.

Slippery slopes are slippery.

Work and compensation are quite different from an uncompensated softball league. There is no loss of wages or promotion playing recreational softball.

[floridayankee]

Jun 3, 2011 12:55:44 GMT -5 swamp said:

Dang, if they banned all the lesbians from the softball league I played in, about 1/2 the players (and also the best players) would be gone.

Can I play....I'm a lesbian. I can be the pinch hitter.

[swamp]

Jun 3, 2011 14:05:55 GMT -5 floridayankee said:

Jun 3, 2011 12:55:44 GMT -5 swamp said:

Dang, if they banned all the lesbians from the softball league I played in, about 1/2 the players (and also the best players) would be gone.

Can I play....I'm a lesbian. I can be the pinch hitter.

Sure, we call you the EP (Extra player). Can you drink beer after the game? That seems to be a requirement for the league too.

[privateinvestor]

Hey ..

I am straight, retired military, exemplary VA Hospital volunteer, and banned here almost constantly so what is the big deal about some straights who are also banned from playing softball with Gays...go find another softball team like I found other boards who love us straightly, retired military..


So my point is if you are banned ???So what!!! No biggie and deal with it..

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Jun 3, 2011 12:57:00 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

No doubt they CAN do it, Molly. The question is, should they do it? Is it conducive to the betterment of human relations and the promotion of tolerance? I think not.

I agree it doesn't add much to the betterment of relations and the promotion of tolerance, but that may not be their goal in setting up their own league in the first place.

[privateinvestor]

I agree it doesn't add much to the betterment of relations and the promotion of tolerance, but that may not be their goal in setting up their own league in the first place.

What do the softball uniforms look like the gays wear?? I don't think wearing pink short shorts would be my thing playing softball or any other sport. You are liable to have a uniform malfunction in short shorts and here comes the weeny weinie jokes again

[Deleted]

Just saying.. gay guys I know would not be caught dead in pink hot pants. Nor do they wear make-up and sport boas in pride marches. They are just regular guys but have male partners.. which is, of course, private and affects no one.. mebbe because my gay men friends are bears.....

[swamp]

Jun 3, 2011 14:54:34 GMT -5 @krickitt said:

Just saying.. gay guys I know would not be caught dead in pink hot pants.

You've never hung out at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC, have you?

[privateinvestor]

Jun 3, 2011 14:54:34 GMT -5 @krickitt said:

Just saying.. gay guys I know would not be caught dead in pink hot pants. Nor do they wear make-up and sport boas in pride marches. They are just regular guys but have male partners.. which is, of course, private and affects no one.. mebbe because my gay men friends are bears.....

Are your gay buds into softball??

[Deleted]

Not that I know of. Unless it is their kid's sports....