The Toronto Blue Jays acted quickly, suspending Yunel Escobar after the shortstop walked onto the field Saturday with the words “tu ere maricon” written in his eye black. “Tu ere maricon”means “you are a faggot” in Spanish. Escobar will bew suspended for three days, his salary for those games will be donated to GLAAD and the You Can Play Project, and Escobar will be working with both organizations.
“GLAAD has been in conversations throughout the day with the team and with Major League Baseball (MLB) about the incident,” Aaron McQuade, Director of News and Field Media at GLAAD reported:
“Today’s actions show that MLB and the Toronto Blue Jays are committed to creating an environment that all fans and families can enjoy, not a place where discriminatory language and anti-gay attitudes are accepted,” said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick.
The Blue Jays released a statement last night, saying the team “(does) not support discrimination of any kind nor condone the message displayed by Yunel Escobar during Saturday’s game.” In announcing Escobar’s suspension and intent to work with GLAAD and You Can Play, the team today stated “The Blue Jays want to reaffirm that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated. The club looks forward to supporting the efforts of You Can Play and GLAAD to help promote education for players and fans alike and to help keep language like this out of the game and society.”
Last year, through our relationship with MLB, GLAAD sent a list of recommendations and suggestions to each of the teams who participated in the It Gets Better project. In 2010 we also worked with the New York Yankees on a zero-tolerance policy for anti-gay discrimination in the stands.
The Courage Campaign, coincidentally, is honoring You Can Play Project’s Brian Burke on Thursday at their 2nd Annual Spirit of Courage Awards.
Image via GLAAD
Friends:
We invite you to sign up for our new mailing list, and subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email or RSS.
Also, please like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter!
{ 5 comments }
Why on earth would someone put something like that in their eye black area??? Don't people understand that people know more than one language these days and that discriminatory language is highly unacceptable?
I think they should have suspended him for at least 5 games!
An apology from the player to the LGBT Community might be nice.
Actually, there is one aspect of the Escobar goof that is pro-gay. In Spanish, there are two verb forms of "to be." One is "estar," which contemplates a temporary disposition; the other is "ser," which is a permanent or innate disposition. "Tu ere maricon" indicates the latter, "Soy, eres, es" (I am/you are/he, she, it is). Thus, the player obviously believes homosexuality is something one is born, not acquired by choice. Let's at least applaud him for that. Unfortunately, he is probably ignorant of the difference, so it is akin to a backhanded compliment.
Points for Spanish grammar spinning! I don't believe that was his intention either, but nice way to look at it.
I know, Shelby, but even an accidental nod to nature over nurture is nice. All the religious fundamentalists who rely on the same dogma the ball player was brought up on claim that homosexuals are made, not born.
Comments on this entry are closed.