As the MLB celebrates Pride Month by forcing all of its teams to host “Pride Night” and other pro-LGBT agenda events, the Texas Rangers are the only team pushing back against the woke mandates. The Arlington-based team has refused to don any kind of rainbow paraphernalia this month and has opted out of hosting Pride-related events at games entirely. The team’s stand against tyranny may not last for much longer, however; In an interview in 2021, Rangers COO Neil Leibman told the Dallas Morning News that the organization had already begun implementing DEI practices in their hiring process to create a more “inclusive” atmosphere internally. Many worry that with mounting pressure from leftist activist groups and weak internal leadership, the Rangers may soon cave to the demands of the left and fall in line with their woke agenda’s status quo.
BREITBART: Only One Major League Baseball Team Still Declines to Hold a Pride Night Game
By Warner Todd Hutson; June 4, 2023
With “Pride Month” in full swing, nearly every Major League Baseball team has posted their logos in rainbow pride colors and announced when their June Pride Night game will be scheduled.
All have, that is, but one team which has steadfastly refused to hold a gay pride night.
Despite the league’s full support for displays and pandering to the radical gay movement, the Texas Rangers have eschewed any sort of demonstrations for gay pride. For example, they do not mar their logo with rainbow colors on June first as other teams do, nor have they announced any “Pride Game” nights.
This is nothing new for the Arlington, Texas, team.
The Rangers did try an informal gay night back in 2003 when team officials invited several gay groups to what is now Globe Life Field. But the invitation drew as many protesters as it did supporters, according to Next Impulse Sports. Since then, the team has offered no LGBT events, games, days, or celebrations.
In 2021, Rangers COO Neil Leibman addressed the idea of a Pride Night game with the Dallas Morning News and insisted that changes to how the office works were more important than displays at games.
“With respect to Pride Night, we reached out to the Resource Center and said what can we do internally,” Leibman said. “We immediately adopted some changes they suggested to be more inclusive in hiring practices. I think that’s more meaningful than just saying, ‘OK, we had a Pride Night.’”
Still, the Rangers have also avoided making policies or statements specifically on Pride initiatives.
The reluctance has brought criticism, naturally. Rafael McDonnell, who works with the activist group LGBTQ Resource Center, scolded the team, the News added.
“They’ve made some efforts, but it’s very much a start,” McDonnell told the paper. “Compared to their peer professional sports teams, they have some distance to go.”
The first team to hold a “Pride” game was the Chicago Cubs, which first held such an event in 2001. Their effort became a template every team in the league used except the Rangers.
Photo: Earl J McGehee