LA Dodgers Belated Apology to Family of Glenn Burke

[kgmets]

Tonight's Mets at Dodgers game is the Dodgers' ninth annual Pride Night. A long overdue apology to forty family members and friends of the late Glenn Burke, who played for the Dodgers from 1976-1978 and was the very first major league openly gay player, for the homophobic misconduct of then Dodger management against him. After the 1978 World Series Dodger management offered Glenn a $75,000 bribe to get married. Glen's response was "To a woman!" Dodger management was further irked that Glenn was close friends to Tommy Lasorda Jr., the closeted gay son of the Dodger manager. The Dodgers then traded Glenn to Oakland, where homophobe manger Billy Martin publicly introduced Glenn to his new team with a homophobic slur. Soon thereafter Glenn was reassigned to the minor leagues and retired. Then his life descended into drug addiction, a term in prison for drug use, a period of homelessness and finally an all too premature death from AIDS. Subsequently, openly gay Billy Bean became Oakland's general manager and was so appalled by his team's past abusive treatment of Glenn that he reached out to Glenn's family and became very close to them. Ironically the one group Glenn apparently had no problems with was his Dodger teammates, who to this day recall his outgoing personality (one example being that Glenn invented the "high five") and marveled at his athletic talent, The present Dodger GM issued this statement about tonight: "The Dodgers are a celebrated organization about breaking barriers. This is the 75th Anniversary of Jackie Robinson [who the Dodgers in 1947 made the first black player ever in major league baseball]. We are a proud organization. With that said, if there are moments on our part that are not heroic or moments not to be proud of, it is our desire and job to look back and say, OK, let's acknowledge them and realize that we can make a change. Progress takes time. But progress also takes a lot of hard work." This post is based upon the lead article of the Sport Section of the New York Times. If Broke Straight Boys members can access either the print or digital edition, the article is well worth reading and goes into much more depth than this post. So good Pride Night to the folks of Los Angeles and long overdue apologies to the family of the late Glenn Burke.

 

[mikeyank]

That is a fascinating story KG. However I do believe that there is one inaccuracy. There are actually two Billy Bean’s, although spelt slightly differently. Billy Bean was the second major league player to come out as gay after Glenn Burke. Billy Beane with an e at the end was and still is the general manager and part owner of the Oakland Athletics. In the movie Moneyball Brad Pitt played his character based on Billy Beane.

The now openly gay Billy Bean is now MLB's first ambassador for inclusion,

Are there 2 Billy Beane's?

I'm not him, I'm the "other" Billy Bean, the only man alive who played Major League Baseball to acknowledge he's gay. The other Billy Beane just happened to be my teammate in 1988 when we both played for the Detroit Tigers Triple A team, called the Toledo Mud Hens. I'll never forget "that" Billy Beane.

Nevertheless that is a great story kg that the Dodgers have publicly apologized to the family of the late Glen Burke. His life after baseball was tragic.

 

[kgmets]

That is a fascinating story KG. However I do believe that there is one inaccuracy. There are actually two Billy Bean’s, although spelt slightly differently. Billy Bean was the second major league player to come out as gay after Glenn Burke. Billy Beane with an e at the end was and still is the general manager and part owner of the Oakland Athletics. In the movie Moneyball Brad Pitt played his character based on Billy Beane.

The now openly gay Billy Bean is now MLB's first ambassador for inclusion,

Are there 2 Billy Beane's?

I'm not him, I'm the "other" Billy Bean, the only man alive who played Major League Baseball to acknowledge he's gay. The other Billy Beane just happened to be my teammate in 1988 when we both played for the Detroit Tigers Triple A team, called the Toledo Mud Hens. I'll never forget "that" Billy Beane.

Nevertheless that is a great story kg that the Dodgers have publicly apologized to the family of the late Glen Burke. His life after baseball was tragic.

Yes, I was referring to the Oakland GM Billy Beane.

 

[mikeyank]

Yes, I was referring to the Oakland GM Billy Beane.

He was the straight Billy Beane. You can’t tell the Billy Bean’s without a scorecard.

 

[br6205]

Interesting and sad.

 

[kgmets]

He was the straight Billy Beane. You can’t tell the Billy Bean’s without a scorecard.

Good point!

 

[tampa24]

Thanks for sharing that story KG. I wasn't aware of it.

 

[kgmets]

Thanks for sharing that story KG. I wasn't aware of it.

You are very welcome! Even though 1976-1978 is a long time ago, I thought that it was important that after all of these years, a horrible homophobic wrong was belatedly apologized for. As the present Dodger General Manager said about the Dodger GM back then "what he did was so wrong in so many ways!" None of this will bring the late Glenn Burke back to life of course, but hopefully what happened to Glenn will never again happen to a young gay athlete.

 

[mikeyank]

And several players on Tampa Bay refused to wear the Pride logo on their uniforms during Pride Night in Tampa.

 

[kgmets]

That's sad, but at least they are now in the tiny minority instead to the vast majority they used to be in past times.

 

[mikeyank]

That's sad, but at least they are now in the tiny minority instead to the vast majority they used to be in past times.

It will be interesting to see if other teams have Pride logos for teams to wear as June moves forward. It has been suggested that the reason the Mets didn’t re-sign Daniel Murphy years ago was because of his comments regarding how he couldn’t accept the homosexual lifestyle because of his faith.And the comments also go back to Billy Bean.



https://bleacherreport.com/articles...ments-on-billy-bean-potential-of-gay-teammate


Daniel Murphy Comments on Billy Bean, Potential of Gay Teammate

New York Mets infielder Daniel Murphy made some controversial comments about homosexuals in regard to the team bringing in Billy Bean, who is serving as Major League Baseball's inclusion ambassador and is one of two former big leaguers who have come out as gay.

Speaking to reporters, via Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com, Murphy said he would have no problem getting to know Bean even though he doesn't agree with the lifestyle:

I disagree with his lifestyle. I do disagree with the fact that Billy is a homosexual. That doesn't mean I can't still invest in him and get to know him. I don't think the fact that someone is a homosexual should completely shut the door on investing in them in a relational aspect. Getting to know him. That, I would say, you can still accept them but I do disagree with the lifestyle, 100 percent.

Murphy, who the article notes is a devout Christian, said his religious beliefs are such that "we love the people. We disagree (with) the lifestyle."

Bean responded to Murphy's comments, via MLB.com:

After reading his comments, I appreciate that Daniel spoke his truth. I really do. I was visiting his team, and a reporter asked his opinion about me. He was brave to share his feelings, and it made me want to work harder and be a better example that someday might allow him to view things from my perspective, if only for just a moment.

I respect him, and I want everyone to know that he was respectful of me. We have baseball in common, and for now, that might be the only thing. But it's a start.

The silver lining in his comments are that he would be open to investing in a relationship with a teammate, even if he "disagrees" with the lifestyle. It may not be perfect, but I do see him making an effort to reconcile his religious beliefs with his interpretation of the word lifestyle. It took me 32 years to fully accept my sexual orientation, so it would be hypocritical of me to not be patient with others.

 

[tampa24]

Yes. It is sad. But as has been mentioned, it's a small minority of players.

 

[tampa24]

My all-time favorite Rays player Evan Longoria doesn't shy away from showing some support to the gay community. Even though he's now with the San Francisco Giants, and he's got a few more miles on him, I'll always have a love for him. lol