The Only MLB Team to Hold the Line Against ‘Pride Night’ Just Won the World Series

Full disclosure: This writer isn’t the biggest baseball fan. But even if you hate baseball, decent people everywhere will still be able to appreciate this gem of a twist. On Wednesday night, the Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks, securing the World Series in the process, four games to one. For a number of legitimate baseball reasons, this was a historic night. Not only did the Rangers secure the first World Series title in the franchise’s somewhat tortured history, the team did so by winning 11 postseason games on the road — an MLB record for a single playoff run. (And not-so-fun-but-funny fact following the Rangers win: The Houston Texans are the only major North American professional sports franchise in Texas without a championship now.) But the Rangers’ World Series win was also significant for a totally different reason: They were the lone team to hold out from joining in the hedonistic celebration of LGBT “pride.” The Rangers have boycotted this “tradition” for some number of years now, but that decision was especially thrust under a searing spotlight due to MLB’s own tumultuous entanglement with far-left LGBT nonsense this year. In particular, the Los Angeles Dodgers — who many had considered a title contender at the start of the year — came under intense scrutiny when they invited a blasphemous group of cross-dressers known as the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence” (and fair warning, that link leads to a fairly disturbing video) to be “honored” and celebrated as part of LBGT “pride” month this year. The move was met with such swift backlash that people weren’t so quick to forgive the Dodgers, even after a Chris Pratt-headlined “Faith and Family Day.” And yet that backlash against the Dodgers was hardly chronicled by the establishment sports media. No, they were too busy whataboutisming about the Rangers. The Athletic, for instance, hunted down “more than a dozen people” to disparage the Rangers and paint the organization as some sort of bigoted bunch of hysterics. “It’s ironic because we just played the Rays on their (Pride Day) and the whole message was ‘Baseball is for Everyone,’” one unnamed, but “current,” Rangers employee told the outlet. “But not if you’re a Texas Rangers fan.” “I grew up here, I’m a diehard Rangers fan,” a different unnamed current employee told The Athletic. “When I started working here, it was a dream job. But it’s pretty s***** that it’s an organization over the last few years that has done or said things, or not done or said things, that not only do I not agree with or not reflect who I want to be as a person, but it’s bordering on being disgusting.” Oh, and The Athletic made sure to note why these sources needed to remain anonymous: “Some, including active Rangers employees who are members of the LGBTQ+ community, feared for their jobs and livelihoods in speaking out. The Athletic granted anonymity to anyone affiliated with the organization so that they could speak freely.” “And livelihoods.” Oh, brother. Are they confusing the United States of America for, say, Hamas militants? Oh, and if you were wondering, yes, most professional sports teams give championship rings to all manner of employees and staffers — so those oh-so-scared employees are probably going to have a nice ring on their fingers soon.

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    This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.