The Seattle Mariners have announced that they will fly a gay pride flag in their stadium on Sunday during a game against the Chicago Cubs. The planned flag raising is set to coincide with the scheduled date of Seattle’s annual gay pride parade.
It is believed that they are the first professional sports team of any kind, and they are certainly the first Major League Baseball team to publically fly said flag.
The news comes down just a day after the United States Supreme Court struck down New York’s Defence of Marriage Act (or DOMA) citing that it was an unconstitutional discrimination against same-sex couples.
“We’re a part of this community. Our fans are a reflection of our community,” Mariners spokeswoman Rebecca Hale said in the announcement from Seattle Pride. “We thought this was an appropriate gesture on a day that is very meaningful to the LGBT community.”
The move also comes just a few months after John Collins came out as the first active openly gay athlete in major North American sports league.
This move indicates yet more acceptance for the LGBT community and we are glad to see the Mariners leading the way.
There are some that will tell you that Sports Teams and Athletes shouldn’t be involved in Politics…. but to those, we say They SHOULD be involved. The world is a better place because of people like Jackie Robinson and what he did in the game of Baseball, and how he was helped by the Brooklyn Dodgers and their great owner Mr. Landis.
While we don’t believe the Seattle Mariner’s actions to be on that historic level, the events do show that sports can be a catalyst for change, equality and fairness. If the Mariners actions can bring the LGBT community to more widespread acceptance, then good for them. We hope that this can be a lesson to all teams, players, fans, executives, coaches, and officials. Fairness for all no matter what happens in their bedroom (consensually of course).
Bravo Seattle. Bravo Mariners
… and thats the Last Word.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave your comments below, and don’t forget to follow our baseball department on Twitter @Nvincelli, @tiltman1975 and @lastwordmark. You can also the site while you are at it – @lastwordonsport.
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? If so, check out our “Join Our Team” page to find out how.
