Friendly Voices - Ron Darling

"I don't think we're there yet, and I think that is sad. But it is going to happen. It is going to take one of the great players to come out. At some point, one of our athletes is going to reveal that he is gay, and I think that will be a joyous moment - not only for gays and lesbians, but for all of us." - Retired New York Met and current sportscaster Ron Darling, speaking on when a currently-playing major league athlete might come out. Darling tells the Daily News that he's "joyous" over the passage of marriage equality.

Chicago Cubs - It Gets Better

MINNEAPOLIS: Lesbian Couple Yelled At For Kissing At Twins Baseball Game

Via Minneapolis' City Pages blog:

Taylor Campione and Kelsi Culpepper -- two lesbian women from Minneapolis -- were recently scolded by a Target Field security guard for what they call a "brief kiss." After seeing the quick peck on the lips, the guard told the women that "we don't play grab ass here" and that they must "adhere to the 10 Commandments" while at the stadium. "That ruined our entire evening," says Campione. "We were super upset, we felt super uncomfortable." The security guard has since been reprimanded, but continues to work at the stadium, says Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the Twins. "That behavior just is unacceptable," Smith says of the biblical put-down. "That security guard has received both a verbal and written reprimand that will be put in his personnel file, and he understands that that is not an acceptable behavior."

The couple plans to file a complaint with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

Red Sox To Make "It Gets Better" Clip

At the urging of a very young fan, the Boston Red Sox have agreed to become the third major league sports team to record an "It Gets Better" video. The Advocate reports:

Sam Maden, a 12-year-old Sox fan, petitioned the team via Change.org to create a video for the project, founded by Dan Savage and Terry Miller as a way to fight antigay bullying and teen suicide by letting young LGBT people know that life does get better. Maden conceived his petition campaign as a way to honor an uncle who died unexpectedly in January. About 9,000 people, mostly Red Sox fans from New England, signed Maden’s petition, according to a news release from Change.org. Team executives announced over the weekend that the Sox would make a video.

Last week the San Francisco Giants became the first time to release an anti-bullying video. The Chicago Cubs are due up next.

Cubs To Make "It Gets Better" Clip

The Chicago Cubs have announced their intent to follow the lead of the San Francisco Giants and create an It Gets Better clip.

The Cubs will be the second professional sports team to participate in the "It Gets Better" campaign following the San Francisco Giants who released their video earlier this week. "The Cubs applaud the Giants for their stand against anti-LGBT bullying. Bullying of anyone for any reason is unacceptable," said Laura Ricketts, Cubs owner and board member. "We are proud to join the Giants in taking a stand against bullying and encourage other professional sports organizations to do the same.

Last year the Cubs had a float in the Chicago Pride Parade.

San Francisco Giants - It Gets Better

Touch Brian Wilson's Beard

San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson has launched a virtual "beard-touching" website.

Bin Laden News At The Ballpark

News of Bin Laden's death rocketed around the stadium at last night's Phillies-Mets game, leaving the players a bit befuddled as to why the fans were suddenly cheering and chanting.

Atlanta Braves Suspend Pitching Coach Over Anti-Gay Slurs Directed At Fans

The Atlanta Braves have suspended their pitching coach after he heckled fans at a San Francisco game by shouting, “Are you a homo couple or a threesome?" and then simulating anal sex with a baseball bat.

The Braves have placed pitching coach Roger McDowell on administrative leave while they continue to investigate allegations that he directed anti-gay slurs toward fans at San Francisco’s AT&T Park. The Braves announced that minor league pitching coordinator Dave Wallace would fill in during McDowell’s absence. Braves general manager Frank Wren is scheduled to meet with the media at 4:10 p.m. The last Brave to miss game action for inflammatory remarks was former closer John Rocker after his 1999 tirade in Sports Illustrated. Rocker was originally fined $20,000 by Major League Baseball and suspended for a month, but his sanctions were reduced to a $500 fine and a two-week suspension by an arbitrator. McDowell issued an apology on Wednesday, saying “I am deeply sorry that I responded to the heckling fans in San Francisco on Saturday. I apologize to everyone for my actions.”

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred yesterday held a press conference with one of the witnesses, who was attending the game with his young daughters. When the witness complained to McDowell about his language, the coach allegedly waved the bat at him asking, "How much are your teeth worth?"

UPDATE: GLAAD says the Braves need to do more.

“It remains to be seen whether the Atlanta Braves will take real disciplinary action and send a clear message that there is no place for anti-gay remarks or violent threats in baseball,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “The Braves and Major League Baseball should follow the NBA and WWE by speaking out in support of gay and lesbian baseball fans and players around the country, and by taking steps to make the sport a safe place for everyone.”

SF Giants Brian Wilson & Cody Ross Get Silly With YouTube Star Keenan Cahill

SF Giants Pitcher Brian Wilson For Xbox

San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson, who gained positive notice here for his dyed-black World Series beard, appeared on Lopez Tonight yesterday to promote his new Xbox game. Which wouldn't be very interesting except that it's Brian Wilson, who always brings the crazy. Feels like he's angling for a post-baseball career in comedy, yeah? Stick around for the game trailer at the end.

Roberto Alomar Named To Baseball Hall Of Fame Despite HIV-Related Accusations

Superstar second baseman Roberto Alomar was elected to the Baseball Hall Of Fame today, surprising some observers who had predicted that the retired ballplayer's HIV-lawsuit peppered past would keep him from the sport's greatest honor. In October 2010, Alomar's estranged wife filed a lawsuit claiming he had unprotected sex with her even though he knows he is HIV-positive. In 2009 a former girlfriend sued Alomar on similar grounds, claiming that he told her he was raped by two Mexican men at the age of 17 after playing in a baseball game in a southwest U.S. state. The ex-girlfriend said that she stayed with him for almost three years after his 2006 positive HIV test, but that she no longer had unprotected sex with him after that. Alomar settled the girlfriend's $15M lawsuit out of court for an undisclosed amount. His wife's lawsuit is still pending. Neither woman has reported being infected and Alomar continues to avow that he is not HIV-positive. He retired from baseball in 2005, citing health issues.

SF Giants World Series Victory Parade

Lt. Governor-elect Mayor Gavin Newsom and Brian "The Beard" Wilson go by right at the beginning of this clip.

Riots In SF After Giants Win

Mayhem broke out in parts of San Francisco last night following Giants winning the World Series.

Peeved God Loses Bet With Satan As San Francisco Wins World Series

San Francisco, home of uncountable lost perverted souls, tonight also become home to a World Series championship team for the first time ever. And once again, it was the bearded hottie pitcher on the mound at the end.

Freepers are reacting in predictable fashion.

-"San Francisco will have a GIANT hangover tomorrow. Lower voter turnout!"
-"I hope they stick that trophy in a earthquake proof case. 10.0,10.0,10.0!"
-"Yay! Than Franthisco!!! Go Gianths!!!"

BREAKING: Woofy Bearded Pitcher Makes Baseball Slightly Less Boring

Also: San Francisco won the pennant. Just For Men should totally hire Brian Wilson as their spokesbear.

New York Yankees Promise To End Homophobic Taunting In The Stands

Responding to pressure from GLAAD, the New York Yankees have vowed to end homophobic taunting by their fans. The issue came to light on Tuesday thanks to a video (created by JMG reader Sean Chapin) which showed fans shouting an obscene version of Village People's YMCA at fans for opposing teams. Via GLAAD:

We reached out to the Yankees, and were extremely pleased with their reaction. Yankees spokesperson Alice McGillion told us “the Yankees have zero tolerance for this and any kind of abuse.” She said that security in the bleacher sections of the stadium will warn fans, before YMCA is played, that any type of homophobic abuse “will not be tolerated” and she assured us that any fans who take part in this ugly bullying will be ejected from the game. We’d like to thank McGillion and the Yankees organization for their prompt and proactive response.

The taunting has been a tradition at Yankee Stadium at least since 2006, when the original clip was first posted on YouTube, where it has received 200,000 views to date. Once again, here's Sean Chapin's version.

Wife Of Former Mets Player Roberto Alomar Sues Over HIV Exposure

The wife of former New York Mets second baseman Roberto Alomar has filed a lawsuit claiming he had unprotected sex with her even though he knows he is HIV-positive. A former girlfriend of Alomar filed a $15M suit on the same grounds last year. Alomar settled that case out of court.

"Prior to the marriage" in 2009, the suit says, Alomar assured his wife "he had been tested for sexually transmitted diseases and the tests were negative." At some point after their wedding, she discovered that wasn't true, the filing says. She "learned from conclusive proof" that he was HIV-positive, the court papers say. The discovery caused her to "suffer extreme emotional distress, fear and mental anguish," the filing says. She has "not contracted the virus to date but uncertainty still exists due to the delay in the onset of the virus." Lawyers for the Alomars did not return calls for comment. Rivera's filing says she wouldn't have agreed to "marry him if she had known of his true physical condition."

Alomar's wife, who had once denounced the claims of the former girlfriend as "vile lies" says she now wants a divorce. Alomar has consistently denied that he is HIV-positive. He became eligible for the Baseball Hall Of Fame this year, but narrowly missed induction. Some sports writers have speculated that the HIV issue may have cost him that honor as many consider him to be have been the greatest second baseman in the history of the sport. He remain eligible until 2024.

DJ Kitty Rocks The Stadium

Gothamist tips us that the new fan favorite of the Tampa Bay Rays is DJ Kitty, who now rallies the stadium from the Jumbotron at every game. Another video at the first link, news story about DJ Kitty here.

George Steinbrenner Dead At 80

Mercurial New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died of a heart attack this morning in Florida at the age of 80. Since Steinbrenner bought the team in 1973, the Yankees have won eleven pennants and seven World Series. He retired from day to day operations in 2006, handing over the business to his two sons. Steinbrenner is widely credited as having turned the Yankees into the world's most valuable sports brand, with the team and its assets now being worth an estimated $1.6B. His infamous eccentricities were regularly parodied on Seinfeld.