Baseball Is for Everyone: Part 3
Final takes on this important topic
I've been talking about this topic since my first story back in January. The 2025 Major League Baseball season is now in full effect and we're hoping that our favorite teams will make it to the playoffs and maybe further than that. We're passionate fans of this amazing sport we call baseball. It doesn't matter who you are or where you came from. In my last story, I discussed how an arrogant and delusional content creator refused to take measures to ensure a safe and welcoming space for all Texas Rangers fans on his page. Plus, they refused to take my concerns of being verbally abused by some other Rangers fans seriously. For context, they never disclosed if they were either a male or female content creator. Despite my pleas for them to address the problem, they turned a blind eye and downplayed the situation. This made me furious, and I put them on blast on Instagram. I first followed this content creator back on November 1, 2023, which was the night the Rangers won their first ever World Series title. I believed that this was a great community to be part of, since I've never been part of an online baseball space. Everything was going well, until a month ago when the aforementioned situation I was dealing with was too much for me.
It irks me when someone downplays verbal abuse and does nothing to address it. This content creator was so nonchalant but claimed that they "don't condone that kind of behavior." It was almost like saying, "I'm sorry for what you're going through, but you need to get over it." After nearly two years of following this content creator, I made the grown-up decision to not only unfollow that page but block them. It was because I refused to be treated like that by them and other Rangers fans. I've came to a conclusion that the content creator who was running this Texas Rangers fan community page on Instagram was condoning both racism and homophobia. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the case. How I took it was if you were a Rangers fan who wasn't straight or white, then you didn't deserve to exist or share your opinions on that page. I don't want to be part of an online baseball space where I'm not allowed to exist or share my thoughts about my favorite team without being verbally attacked for no reason.
It's disgusting and sad that many baseball fans have bigoted thoughts and views about us. That is because they don't know us or refuse to get to know us. Many MLB players who received fines and/or suspensions for homophobic or transphobic remarks they made aren't exempt from this either. In my stories about Clayton Kershaw, I called him out for transphobic comments he made in a 2023 interview. Just because you have a deeply held religious belief, it doesn't mean you have the right to disrespect and dehumanize others just because they are different from you. That's not a reason to not like someone that you have never met a day in your life. Every bigot's response to what they think about two people of the same sex being a couple or a single LGBTQ+ person existing would be to the effect of "It's unnatural" or quoting any Bible verse to justify their reasonings. I feel like they repeatedly use those reasons as crutches and defense mechanisms as a way to justify their own personal beliefs. Just say that you're a bigot and I'll make sure to avoid you. Besides, Jesus said to love everyone, yet some of these Christians will show their love to everyone, except us. They think that we're the ones that others should be afraid of because we're all horrible individuals. It sounds very hypocritical to me, and they don't practice what they preach. I'm not saying that you have to abandon your beliefs, but I'm urging you to have compassion and empathy for us. While it's not your obligation or job to change people for who they are, being kind and understanding of one's plight is the way.
I believe that there should be safe and welcoming baseball spaces for everyone. No one deserves to be verbally abused online, simply because for being a fan of whatever MLB team they support. Speaking of baseball spaces, I'm in the process of creating a fun and inclusive space for LGBTQ+ baseball fans on Facebook. It'll be a baseball Facebook group, and everyone is welcome to take part of it. Even if you aren't a fan of baseball, it'll be an exciting space to be part of. I'll keep you posted on it. I'll post links below to my first two stories regarding this topic I've discussed.
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About the Creator
Mark Wesley Pritchard
You can call me Wesley. Former cosplayer, retro gaming fanatic, die-hard Texas Rangers fan, and nostalgic freak. Need I say more?
Threads: @misterwesleysworld
Instagram: @misterwesleysworld
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