Posted on 05/04/2005 6:14:57 AM PDT by KidGlock
Pro baseball pitcher honors his two moms
Christopher Curtis, PlanetOut Network
Tue May 3, 8:47 PM ET
SUMMARY: In what some say is progress against pro baseball's anti-gay image, a pitcher who is open about his two lesbian mothers has reported that they are a non-issue among his teammates.
In what some community leaders hail as progress against pro baseball's anti-gay image, a pitcher who is open about his two lesbian mothers has reported that they are a non-issue among his teammates.
"I haven't heard much," Cincinnati Reds pitcher Joe Valentine told the Chicago Tribune. "I thought it was going to be a little bit bigger deal, but I wasn't doing it because I wanted it to be a big deal. It was something I tried to do for my parents and for the gay community. They're a huge part of the population."
Valentine told Newsday reporter Jeff Pearlman about his biological mother Deb Valentine, and his other mother, Doreen Price, who raised him since his birth in Las Vegas in 1979. The couple has been together for 30 years.
"I've gotten good feedback [from teammates]," Valentine said. "A lot of guys said, 'That's pretty cool. That's a pretty awesome thing.' That's really it."
Brian Osler, director of the Gay and Lesbian Athletes Association, said he was pleased to hear about how the team has handled the news. "Professional baseball is more homophobic than most places, but I'm glad to see there's no reaction."
"I think the solution in baseball, like other places, is education and awareness, so hopefully this will be a step to discussing the issues," Osler said. "The last major issue was Piazza's non-press conference where he had a press conference to deny being gay."
Cyd Zeigler, the co-founder of OutSports, a gay sports Web site, shared his theory for why there was no outcry. "For the most part, athletes' parents don't get talked about much and Joe Valentine -- I'll be honest -- I've never heard of the guy."
Zeigler believes there is homophobia in all sports, but there are some exceptions. "You look at the Boston Red Sox. 'Queer Eye for the Straight Guy' filmed an episode with some team members, so obviously some people are OK with it, but now you have some teammates saying they disagreed with it because of their Christian upbringing. So you have people who are homophobic and people who are not."
Helen Carroll, coordinator of the Sports Project at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said if Valentine had two dads instead of two mothers, the issue would have received more publicity. "Men get more coverage than women when it comes to gay issues in sports. That's just a reflection of society itself," she said.
But Carroll insisted the story is newsworthy. "It shows how lesbian and gay parents raise the kind of kids that everyone else does."
In addition, Valentine is one the most visible American adults to be raised by a same-sex couple.
Less than a week before Mother's Day, Valentine told the Chicago Tribune he is glad everyone knows about his two mothers.
"I just wanted to give them some sort of recognition for this," he said. "I feel in my heart they did a great job with me, and I thought it would be nice to just have them see that I appreciated it."
Which one is more butch?
If he is not arrested for a sex crime in the next ten years, I'll be shocked.
Yeah, man. That'll really pack 'em into the parks....A more "Gay Friendly" baseball attitude.
Probably the one who doesn't throw like a girl.
Oh good, now baseball players are not only selfish sluggos on dope, but they are now also arbiters of the nation's ethos? Swell.
What's next? Geraldo Rivera as a marriage counselor?
Phew. I feel better now. Thanks.
So he's mommies' boy?
Screwball
Just what are you saying with that pic...?
Hey, lighten up. The kid said a couple of good things about the people who raised him. That's a good thing. The unwritten rule in sports is you never say anything negative about someone's mother for any reason....
I saved my weiner for you...?
Well that would explain why the Deds are keeping him and his game-blowing ERA around: they are afraid they will be called bigots or worse if they demote or release his incompetent ass.
Was his crib a bull pen?
What picture?
Isn't his mom a catcher? Wait, I meant a pitcher. Oh, forget it, it's too confusing.
I believe it was a bulldyke pen.
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