Perhaps taking their cue from the San Francisco Giants players who protested ever so quietly over being forced to act as LGBTQ boosters, players on the independent Minor League Baseball team York Revolution refused to wear uniforms that featured a rainbow design on the team’s jersey. The head-exploding reaction of the Revolution’s ownership was this:

“It is with great disappointment and that the York Revolution have issued important changes to our 11th Annual Pride Night on Thursday, June 18th. Most significantly, the scheduled game between York and Southern Maryland will not be played and Pride will still be hosted as a free admission event. Everyone’s tickets for the game on Thursday will be treated as a rainout that can be redeemed for any future game. This decision was not reached lightly. Unfortunately, several of our players have refused to wear the scheduled Pride Night jersey and the club decided that hosting the event is more important than forcing players to wear jerseys they are not comfortable with and playing the game.

As a result, and out of respect for the Pride Community and the York community as a whole, the York Revolution has decided that the game on Thursday, June 18 will be forfeited and that Pride Night will continue on as the feature element of the evening at WellSpan Park. We feel that this is the best way to stay consistent with our long-standing partnerships with the Rainbow Rose Center, JLS Automation and the long list of allies that have always been key partners of the York Revolution’s success in York, Pennsylvania.

To be clear; this action by the players is completely inconsistent with our vision as the Most Welcoming Place in York. As a small token of our regret for the last-minute change of plans and support for our LGBTQIA+ representing partners we are making a $10,000 donation to the Rainbow Rose Center to support and further their work in making sure the York community is as inclusive as we strive to make WellSpan Park in York, Pennsylvania.

Please join us for a free and fun celebration of recognition and inclusion on June 18 starting at 5:30 at WellSpan Park. The event will end at 9:00 and will have limited concessions open. We will enjoy community, music and batting practice on the field. The York Revolution will return to the field at home on Friday, June 19.

Tickets from Thursday’s June 18 game may be exchanged for tickets to any remaining 2026 regular season home game (subject to availability).Exchanges can be made in person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office at WellSpan Park or by calling the ticket office at (717) 801-HITS. On game days, the ticket office is open from 10 a.m. until the end of the fifth inning. On non-game days, it is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday.”

To state the obvious, the purpose and mission of a professional baseball team is to play baseball. The unethical, addled Revolution ownership has declared that its superior mission is to pander to the Gay Etc. lobby. It is not.

Even some members of the LGTBQ community are calling this pander counter-productive. The gay sports website (yes, there is one) “OutSports” griped,

“So instead of finding a way to hold the match, team leaders thought the best way to help the LGBTQ community was to cancel the match and, in the eyes of many people who will see this, blame it on the LGBTQ community and forcing players to wear some Pride jerseys?

“The Revolution get an automatic “loss” because of Pride jerseys. Yeah, fans must love that.

“Team leaders could have let some players wear the jersey and some players not wear the jersey. Yes, in this case it would have made some headlines. Some players would have been singled out. But as far as I’m concerned, many of the players choosing to wear the Pride jersey shows progress….The smartest option: The team could have held the Pride Game, but simply had all the players wear a regular team jersey. If the majority of the players declined to wear the jersey, fine. Just have no one wear it. Even if the club had previously advertised that the players would wear the jerseys with rainbow sleeves, the game would have gone on. And no one would be blaming the LGBTQ community for trying to “force” the players to wear the Pride rainbow…No one is yelling to have a Pride rainbow forced onto a player, even for a Pride Game. Unfortunately, the Revolution’s statement says they tried to force players to wear it.

“Ugh…With the players wearing normal game jerseys, the LGBTQ community, supporters and fans could still come to the game, wave rainbow flags, celebrate, have a good time, raise some money for the community. Instead, the York Revolution felt the best plan of action was to do the one thing that would whack the hornets nest of anti-gay politicians and media pundits, make it clear the club was trying to force players to wear the Pride rainbow, cancel the entire match, and let mayhem ensue.”

Well, at least the activists reach the right conclusion here, but OutSports is denying the culpability of their clan. The LGTBQ lobby is certainly trying to force pro-gay celebrations on everyone else: see #1 abovefc . Fans will blame LGTBQ bullying for the team’s forfeit because that is what the Revolution is accustomed to giving in to it.

Oh, and will somebody tell the staff that if OutSports wants to have any credibility with real sports fans, it should know that a contest between teams in our National Pastime is called a game, not a “match.” That this gaffe would reach publication raises the question of whether gay pandering belongs in baseball at all.

My view: it doesn’t.