Does it really matter?

In America it seems announcing personal sexual orientation if you are an athlete is front page news. It surprises me in the Boston area that it would raise any eyebrows as Massachusetts legalized all of this way back in 2004. That would seem to make this a rather normalized state of affairs over the last 9 years I would think.

I should give some background on how this is viewed by someone like myself who was born in the USA, but has lived in Europe for the last twenty years. Over here this whole topic is not even worth a small side story. It just does not matter and for most athletes with celebrity status, except the UK with their tabloid press as the country of exception, they can count on privacy in their personal lives. It is good to see that some athletes in America are commanding that kind of respect.

So today I saw the following twitter from Pete Abraham and I had to stop and take a second look.



There are several things that made me pause and think:

  • is Will Middlebrooks the go to guy for these issues on the Boston Red Sox?
  • did everyone get this question?
  • are we just seeing sports news filler material?

I guess it boils down to how much respect do we have for our professional athletes. I watch baseball because I love the sport, the beauty of baseball, and the athletes that have perfected their abilities with bat and glove. I don't watch it like a reality program and want all the details dragged out into the street. I say for the next Red Sox home game we all put on t-shirts that say, "Who cares" and let them play ball. What do you say, shall we do it?

Post a comment or hit me up on twitter @ericschabell, I would be interested in your thoughts as Boston Red Sox fans.

More by Eric D. Schabell