Torii Hunter is Still Anti-Gay Rights

Soon-to-be free agent Torii Hunter quietly had a pretty decent season for the Detroit Tigers..and at 39, it’s possible he might still have a year or two left in the tank.

That said, the nine-time Gold Glove winner might (stress “might”) find himself having a difficult time finding a job in 2015. The reason?

This.

At first blush, it sounds like an athlete endorsing a gubernatorial candidate from his home state of Arkansas. No big deal…happens all the time.

Listen again.

Yup. That’s Hunter publicly throwing his support behind a guy who believes in “keeping marriage between one man and one woman”…mere months after Major League Baseball named an Ambassador for Inclusion. Even worse, Hunter drops an MLK “content of their character” reference.

Really?

But we’re not surprised, right? I mean, this is the same Torii Hunter who, just two years ago, said he’d have a tough time with an openly gay teammate by playing the Bible card.

“For me, as a Christian…I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right,” Hunter told the Los Angeles Times in December 2012. “It will be difficult and uncomfortable.”

Naturally, Hunter said he was misquoted.

“I’m very disappointed in Kevin Baxter’s article in which my quotes and feelings have been misrepresented,” Hunter responded. “I have love and respect for all human beings regardless of race, color or sexual orientation. I am not perfect and try hard to live the best life I can and treat all people with respect. If you know me you know that I am not anti-anything and to be portrayed as anti-gay in this article is hurtful and just not true.”

See. Hunter is not anti-anything, much less anti-gay…he said so via Twitter. Of course, you’d have a hard time getting anyone to believe that now that he’s actively backing a candidate who, in 1999, voted to ban gay adoptions and, earlier this year, voted that marriage should be only one-man-one-woman.

Ugh.