The Texas Rangers just did the bare minimum for LGBTQ inclusion. And that’s big news.
The Texas Rangers' Spirit Day message shocked us in a good way for once by actually meeting LGBTQ hopes and expectations.
Mark
Yesterday, pro teams throughout the sports world posted messages on social media in honor of Spirit Day, GLAAD’s annual day of observance dedicated to spreading anti-bullying messages and supporting LGBTQ youth.
The Minnesota Vikings, for example, wrote an uplifting post as part of their LGBTQ outreach efforts that included sponsoring last week’s Gay Bowl XXVI.
Others like the San Francisco Giants turned their avatar purple in the hopes that doing so could somehow make the last five months go away.
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There were also a few organizations who let Spirit Day pass without any mention. What’s more, some teams like the Tampa Bay Rays tossed out a generic “bullying is bad, mmmkay?” caption without any mention of our community whatsoever.
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Which makes the next sentence a little bit striking…
The Texas Rangers posted an acceptable — even unexpected — Spirit Day message.
As Hall of Fame broadcaster Eric Nadel once exclaimed in a slightly different context, “Rangers fans, you’re not dreaming!”
On their Twitter feed, the Rangers uploaded a purple “Stand Against Bullying” graphic and wrote, “No one should be bullied or called names for being who they are, no matter your background, race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.”
You read right. The Rangers specifically mentioned sexual orientation and gender identity in their anti-bullying message.
This from a team that doesn’t even acknowledge a rainbow in June. The sheer adequacy of it was shocking.
For comparison’s sake, in 2021, the Rangers commemorated Spirit Day with an insultingly basic “Join us in taking a stand against bullying and in support of inclusion.”
They avoided saying “LGBTQ” like we were the Candyman.
So in this one specific instance, they’ve shown that they’re capable of change in a positive way.
To be clear, this post was not going to result in any kind of “gay Rangers fan gets called onto the Globe Life Field turf during the World Series trophy celebration and makes out with the shortstop to ‘I’ll Believe in Anything’” kind of tearjerking miracle.
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It was the bare minimum.
But based on their history of near total aversion to our community, the story is that on a day dedicated to LGBTQ youth, the Rangers actually did the bare minimum.
That’s progress.
To think it only took five years! At this rate, we can all look forward to attending the first Rangers Pride Night in 2138.
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