Zack Cozart isn’t very happy that Major League Baseball and his former team are opposing the bullying of LGBTQ youth.
That’s what the former Cincinnati Reds player said on X during Spirit Day, a day GLAAD now embraces to demonstrate support for bullied youth.
The offensive message? An image that simply said “Reds stand against bullying,” with a slightly more descriptive caption:
“The Reds join MLB in going purple today in honor of #SpiritDay! We are proud to support LGBTQ youth and speak out against bullying.”
Get off the sidelines and into the game
Our weekly newsletter is packed with everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Blasphemy!
“This sh*t is getting ridiculous,” Cozart wrote on X. “so sick of it… how many months and days do we celebrate real heroes of the military?”
Since WWI, the National Anthem has been played at sporting events across the country. Every day, at high school, college and professional sporting events, the Star-Spangled Banner is played before matches to honor the sacrifices people in the military, and others, have made to keep the United States of America the freest country in the world.
The Reds, for their part, explicitly honor a “Hometown Hero” from the military during the second inning of every single home game. Literally every game.
In reality, Cozart seems to be reacting to the simple demonstration of support for the LGBTQ community and in this case — gasp — gay, bi and trans youth.
This all comes just weeks after the loss of Billy Bean, who championed MLB’s participation in Spirit Day. Bean knew the struggles of LGBTQ people, as a closeted gay MLB player and young man.
Later on, Cozart went off about sexualizing kids with the LGBTQ community.
Thankfully, neither MLB nor the Reds will be listening to Cozart, and the support of LGBTQ youth will continue with Spirit Day and beyond.
Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
