Tampa Bay Rays host Pride Day this weekend, a year after some players refused to wear rainbow-colored logos

Four of those players are still on the team.

click to enlarge Tropicana Field - Photo via Rays/Facebook
Photo via Rays/Facebook
Tropicana Field
The Rays are giving away a can cooler when they face the Texas Rangers for Pride day this weekend, and all eyes will be on the field for the game, too.

Yes, because the Rays are the best team in baseball right now (the Rangers are close behind), but also because it's been a year since at least five players decided not to wear rainbow-colored logos on their uniforms and hats, citing an unwavering belief in a gay-hating version of Jesus Christ.

Four of those players—Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, ​​Jeffrey Springs, Ryan Thompson, all pitchers—are still on the team, but the team declined to comment on CL’s inquiry about whether or not the fellas will forgo the pride patch this weekend.  Last year, lead bigot boy Thompson said his “nah” on the rainbow logo was a faith-based, “hard,” decision. “I think a lot of guys decided that it’s just a lifestyle that maybe—not that they look down on anybody or think differently—it’s just that maybe we don’t want to encourage it if we believe in Jesus, who’s encouraged us to live a lifestyle that would abstain from that behavior, just like (Jesus) encourages me as a heterosexual male to abstain from sex outside of the confines of marriage,” he said. “It’s no different.”

OK, dude.

Tickets to Tampa Bay Rays Pride Day on Saturday, June 10 are still available for $47 & up.

WE LOVE OUR READERS!

Since 1988, CL Tampa Bay has served as the free, independent voice of Tampa Bay, and we want to keep it that way.

Becoming a CL Tampa Bay Supporter for as little as $5 a month allows us to continue offering readers access to our coverage of local news, food, nightlife, events, and culture with no paywalls.

Join today because you love us, too.

Ray Roa

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief in August 2019. Past work can be seen at Suburban Apologist, Tampa Bay Times, Consequence of Sound and The...
Scroll to read more Sports & Recreation articles

Join Creative Loafing Tampa Bay Newsletters

Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox.