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Other stadiums host singles nights and zombie nights.
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This is a great way to bring communities together at the ballpark. Take a look at the Philadelphia Phillies, who host separate official “ heritage ” theme nights for Latino, Italian, German, Irish, African American, Jewish, and Christian fans. In a telephone conversation with Slate, Zeigler explained that “MLB is saying that gay issues in sports are a group sales issue.” Tell that to gay fans in cities that aren’t West Coast liberal meccas.Ĭountering the idea that it’s up to clubs to be more welcoming to gay fans, Cyd Zeigler, founder of venerable LGBTQ sports blog OutSports, believes “MLB is just as responsible for fans in the stands as the individual teams.” While there are notable exceptions, most of MLB’s gay nights are sponsored by independent groups, working together with individual franchises to purchase bulk tickets. “At the end of the day, they are the ones who are creating and executing all of the special game day promotions and they deserve the credit. So teams like the Giants, Mariners, Dodgers and others are the ones you should spend time doing your interviews with,” said MLB’s Matt Bourne. In lieu of an interview, MLB representatives suggested that Slateinstead contact the individual clubs that host such nights. … Baseball and sports can make a meaningful difference in changing opinions of how the American public perceives the LGBT community.” Courtney’s statement also touted MLB’s ties to the LGBTQ organization Athlete Ally, which sounds good at first blush, but quickly loses its luster-this is the same organization that recently resigned from the LGBT Sports Coalition after deliberately and pre-emptively outing UMass basketball player Derrick Gordon. In an email to Slate, MLB Senior Vice President of Public Relations Pat Courtney said, “We are happy to see the clubs welcoming the LGBT community.