Baseball star Billy Bean responds to Mets player’s comments on his ‘gay lifestyle’
Former LA Dodgers player Billy Bean has responded to Daniel Murphy’s comments about his sexuality, saying it would be “hypocritical” of him not to understand that some people won’t accept his sexuality.
Recently, Mets player Daniel Murphy said: “I disagree with his lifestyle. I do disagree with the fact that Billy is a homosexual.”
Billy Bean, who retired from the sport in 1995 due to the pressures of playing in the public eye while closeted, has responded to Murphy’s comments in an essay for MLB.com
He wrote:
He was brave to share his feelings, and it made me want to work harder and be a better example that someday might allow him to view things from my perspective, if only for just a moment.
I respect him, and I want everyone to know that he was respectful of me. We have baseball in common, and for now, that might be the only thing. But it’s a start.
It took me 32 years to fully accept my sexual orientation, so it would be hypocritical of me to not be patient with others.
Murphy had previously insisted that even though he disagreed with Bean’s sexuality, he would still be friendly towards him.
He said: “Just because I disagree with the lifestyle doesn’t mean I’m just never going to speak to Billy Bean every time he walks through the door. That’s not love. That’s not love at all.
“Maybe, as a Christian, we haven’t been as articulate enough in describing what our actual stance is on homosexuality. We love the people. We disagree the lifestyle. That’s the way I would describe it for me. It’s the same way that there are aspects of my life that I’m trying to surrender to Christ in my own life.”
