Boldly standing against the ever-growing trend, the Texas Rangers are the only Major League Baseball team to refuse hosting Pride Night celebrations during Pride Month. With the rest of the MLB embracing the LGBTQ+ community through various events, the Rangers remain a lone voice in the wilderness, insisting that their organization is making more “meaningful” changes behind the scenes.
Pride Month has arrived, and Major League Baseball teams are stepping up to the plate by hosting Pride Night celebrations in their stadiums. However, one team is glaringly absent from the field of festivities – the Texas Rangers. While every other MLB team jubilantly plans their pride celebrations, the Rangers refuse to swing in that direction, displaying a certain reluctance toward embracing the LGBTQ+ community in the public eye.
This is a notable change from last year when the only team without Pride Night on their schedule faced backlash amidst claims of anti-gay sentiment. That Texas franchise avowedly “changed” from within, adopting the suggestions of the Dallas Resource Center to become more inclusive in their hiring practices. Still, Texas Rangers COO Neil Leibman expressed that those internal changes are more meaningful than merely hosting a “Pride Night” event.
To be clear, this is not to say that the Rangers are devoid of interaction with the LGBTQ+ scene entirely. In a 2003 effort, the team invited several LGBTQ+ groups to visit the ballpark. Despite not being officially marketed as a specific promotional event, this action drew anti-gay protests, and the franchise has not since hosted anything similar.
As this year’s Pride Month festivities commence, the Texas Rangers remain a solitary team, refusing to join the masses in promoting and supporting the LGBTQ+ community. Although the club claims to have adopted certain recommendations to become more inclusive behind closed doors, it remains clear that, for now, the Rangers are unwilling to wave the flag of Pride on the public stage.
In conclusion, the persistence of the Texas Rangers in refusing to host a Pride Night event speaks volumes about their priorities and, perhaps, their true attitudes toward inclusivity. While the team maintains an air of self-assuredness, asserting that they are, indeed, embracing LGBTQ+ inclusion internally, their consistent refusal to engage with the community publicly leaves much to ponder.
