In the past, Detroit Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter hasn't been shy about sharing his thoughts on homosexuality. In December of 2012, when Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times wrote a column about homophobia in professional sports leagues, Hunter spoke about the prospect of having a gay teammate, saying, "For me, as a Christian…I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it's not right. It will be difficult and uncomfortable."
The comments received a fair amount of criticism, and shortly after the column's publication, Hunter told The Detroit News that he would be more careful about sharing his political thoughts. "I will never talk about politics, race or anything like that ever again with nobody," said Hunter. "That's not part of baseball, so I'm not gonna talk about it. That's crazy."
Unfortunately, Hunter recently reneged on his declaration, as the MLB veteran decided to lend his voice to a radio ad in Arkansas supporting gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson.
In the ad, Hunter shares his feelings about gay marriage and Hutchinson's candidacy:
This is Pine Bluff native and Major League Baseball Player Torii Hunter. I'm asking you to vote for my friend Asa Hutchinson for Governor. Dr. King said that men should be judged by the content of their character. Today we too often prejudge political candidates by their party label. I'm asking you to consider Asa for his actions.
As a lawyer, Asa fought for more majority African-American districts in the state legislature. Asa is committed to the principles we hold dear, like a strong faith in God, equal justice for all, and keeping marriage between one man and one woman. Asa wants all children to have access to computer science, to expand charter schools, and bring more jobs and small businesses into our communities. Asa won't take your vote for granted. Let's make real change in our community by casting party labels aside and voting our convictions.
Does anyone else find it really ironic that Hunter can talk about "equal justice for all" and then immediately bring up the persecution of a group of people based on their sexual orientation? Anyone?
Currently, same-sex marriage is banned in Arkansas, though the ban is amidst a lengthy judicial review. However, since the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 (a clause which legalized the refusal to recognize same-sex marriages under federal law), more and more states have given same-sex marriages the same legal rights as heterosexual unions. The count has reached 32 states, an exponential increase compared to 2012, when only eight were willing to recognize gay marriage.
Basically, Torii Hunter needs to get with the times. Speaking out against same-sex marriages in 2014? To borrow Hunter's words, that's crazy.
[via Deadspin]
