Clayton Kershaw Announces His Retirement

After an 18-year MLB career (all with the Los Angeles Dodgers), pitcher Clayton Kershaw announced that he'll be retiring at the end of the season, via the Dodger's X account. He'll make his final start on Friday against the San Francisco Giants. Notice in the subtitle that I referred to him as a World Series Champion, singular, and not a two-time World Series Champion, because I still refuse to acknowledge that World Series win as valid, due to it being a pandemic year, and I never will. The main reason is because it would've been inappropriate for me to do so at a time where people were stuck at home and lost their jobs. I would go over his stats and accomplishments, but he has infuriated me so much and later found out that he was a card-carrying bigot, that I could no longer defend or support him ever again, so they're not worth mentioning. More on his bigoted demeanor in a bit. My first impressions of Clayton Kershaw were positive, and I thought he was one of the best pitchers that have ever played the game. Now, I see him as a heartless, disgruntled bigot. I could no longer see him as one of the best pitchers in MLB, nor consider him as the "Face of the Dodgers". That label goes to Freddie Freeman, who is the only Dodgers player I like and respect. Now, let's go over a couple of reasons why I now heavily despise him.

During Pride Month in June, the 37-year-old was seen wearing a Dodgers Pride hat with a Bible verse, specifically, Genesis 9:12-16, which appeared to be anti-LGBTQ+. Many people online defended him, which I didn't find surprising. This wasn't the first time Kershaw made dehumanizing comments toward the LGBTQ+ community. He made bigoted remarks towards The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, which they were invited to Dodger Stadium during the team's Pride Night in 2023. Kershaw stated at the time that the group was "mocking Christianity". I called him out for that in one of my previous stories I wrote about him. This is an example of a person who constantly searches for problems that aren't there.

Everyone is entitled to their own personal beliefs and that's not up for debate. However, him being a devout Christian is not a hall pass for him to disparage and dehumanize a group that he has probably never met a day in his life. No one is that perfect and he's not better than anyone. Are all Christians hostile towards LGBTQ+ people? Of course not. However, bigotry and all forms of hate need to be called out, whether someone is an athlete or a regular Joe. The biggest mistake that Clayton Kershaw has made is lumping all of us together in one box and making blatant assumptions. Clayton and I are from the same state, Texas. He's from Dallas and I'm from Arlington. We're the same age, although I'm a few months older than he is. In fact, he would've been a wonderful addition to the Texas Rangers starting rotation. I would've welcomed him with open arms. If he were to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, I would be against it because of his anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and because he's gets in his feelings over the smallest things. Clayton Kershaw doesn't get a pass, just because he's retiring. He'll never get a pass, because like I said before, I finally saw him for who he was. He'll always be a disgruntled, self-centered, bigoted A-hole and I'm not sorry for saying that. I'll never respect an athlete who has that way of thinking about us. Honestly, he should've retired after they got swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 NLDS. I don't feel sorry for him at all, because he's not a pleasant person, based on how he has behaved over the years. I have zero remorse for Clayton, because we have to believe people the first time they show us who they really are. All I can hope for him is that he'll enjoy retirement and live a peaceful life.

Even if you're not a baseball fan, let Clayton's bigoted demeanor be a reminder that everyone deserves to be treated with the utmost respect, regardless of gender, sexuality, or sexual orientation. To all Christians: you don't have to like us, but we deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, just like it says in the Bible. Right? We deserve to exist in this world, regardless of what others think about us. Love will always overcome hate, and love will always win in the end.