Three members of the team D2 of the San Francisco Gay Softball league are suing the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance after having their second place status in the Gay Softball World Series revoked because their team was "not gay enough". Teams were allowed to have only two heterosexuals on the team and three of the members were determined to be "non-gay". Even though some of them claimed to be bisexual they were told that "This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series". The suit brings to issue whether the gay sports alliance was in violation of Washington state's public accommodations laws by limiting the number of heterosexuals that can play on a team. Although D2 has disbanded, the plaintiffs want at least $75,000 in damages as well as their 2nd place status reinstated and a team trophy.
I thought this was an interesting reversal of events. What do you guys think about this situtation? Should the league be able to discriminate who plays in the league? Or is this a violation of freedom of association? And would allowing heterosexuals to play be against the spirit of the league?
Thursday, April 22, 2010
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7 comments:
This is softball right? I don't understand why sexuality is so important here in the first place. Yes, it's the gay league, but I still don't see why sexuality is so significant for athletics to begin with.
I say just let the people play. i don't think that there is even a point to have a homosexual team. If you have a softball team there is no point of having one with just gay people. Everyone should be accepted on a team and there should not me any discrimination toward any kinds of people. Since the team was not gay enough to win second place in their championships, i think that they will win their case because there shouldn't be any kind of discrimination just because they might have a bisexual on their team. Its kind of like a league i used to play in for basketball, it was an all Filipino league and i don't really look Filipino. I am half Filipino and when my brother and i wanted to play they said that we are not. My Brother and i argued with them for a long time until they let us play. I think that it is kind of similar the they softball case because they didn't let them win because of who they are. I also think that it should all just come down to who can play and how they can help the team win and get the championship, instead of who's gay and who's not.
Wow, the reversal thing is kind of throwing me off...but anyway, I don't think it should be that big a deal. I mean, I understand that the Gay League was set up for a reason, but is it really that big a deal if the team has one more straight person than the other teams? I'm still trying to figure out why that should have cost them their placing.
I think that it depends on whether or not the third person considers himself homosexual. If he does then the committee has no right to tell him he is not "gay enough". If he is really straight and simply trying to con the system then I agree with the league.
It is not discrimination or prejudice against heterosexuals. The homosexual community, a minority community, wanted a homosexual sports league for bonding and gay pride reasons I would imagine. I see no reason that this is wrong.
I think that this is very contridictory. People are always saying not to discriminate and things like this shouldn't have limits on sex, sexuality, religion, etc... These homosexuals probably advocate for things non-discriminatory, so why discriminate against heterosexuals?
Mark, are you saying that people are allowed to have a heterosexual league and limit the amount of homosexuals? Might as well make NBA and MLB a heterosexual league and see where the case goes. I can almost guarantee that the courts will NOT be in favor of a heterosexual league in which it limits the gay population because that is simply discrimination.
Then again, SFGSL is a private organization, so it twists everything around.
As for the issue of 3 "non-gay" players, I think that is absurd. Actually, if you go to the SFGSL website and look at the "about us" section, you'll find this: SFGSL is a gay and lesbian softball league committed to providing an organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender participants to compete in an environment conducive to the community.
I see that they support bisexual and transgender participants. Case closed.
I find this whole issue rather ridiculous. Whether or not someone is "gay enough" or not should not invalidate the fact that they are good at softball. Players who have the skill to achieve second place should deserve to be awarded.
This just goes to show that discrimination is not just aimed towards minorities...the majority can be discriminated against as well.
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