US baseball star Torii Hunter: I would be ‘uncomfortable’ with having a gay teammate
Torii Hunter, who plays as a slugger for the Detroit Tigers, says he would find it “difficult and uncomfortable” to accept openly gay baseball players.
The 37-year-old claims it’s because of his Christian beliefs.
In an interview to the LA Times, which published an article about the lack of openly gay baseball players, Hunter said:
“For me, as a Christian … I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right,” he added: “It will be difficult and uncomfortable.”
Grant Hill, who plays for the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team, was also quoted in the article saying: “It’s still taboo in the locker room” for a player to be openly gay.
It is not the first time Hunter has made intolerant comments about diversity in sport.
Nearly three years ago he told USA Today he believed Latino players of African descent were “imposters” when it came to the dwindling numbers of black players in US baseball.
After facing a backlash, Hunter claimed that he was not racist.
