Local

Nats commentator apologizes for ‘sissy’ remark

D.C. sports groups say team supports LGBT community

Published

14 years ago

June 15, 2011

A commentator for the Washington Nationals baseball team apologized on Wednesday for using the word “sissy” during a June 5 televised broadcast of a Nationals game against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.

In an interview with the Washington Blade, Ray Knight, a former Major League Baseball player who serves as a commentator accompanying the Nationals’ regular announcer, said he meant no harm to anyone when he used the word. He said he didn’t realize it is sometimes used as a derogatory code word for gay men.

“I never thought one time that that would be a word that would be used to connote that,” he said, adding that he meant it as an expression calling for a baseball player to “come on, toughen up.”

“But absolutely, I get it,” he said. “Now I get it.”

In his comments during the June 5 broadcast, Knight used the term in a discussion about batters being hit by balls thrown by pitchers.

“So you don’t go up there playing the game like a sissy,” he said. “And I’m at the far end of it, I promise you. But I just don’t like all this baloney about the aggressiveness that’s been taken away.”

He was referring to a baseball rule allowing umpires to eject a pitcher from a game if the umpire believes the pitcher intentionally hits a batter with the ball.

Just prior to using the term sissy, Knight told TV viewers that he never likes to see a batter hit or injured by pitched balls. But he said the practice by pitchers of throwing “inside pitches” that come close to hitting a batter is a longstanding tradition in baseball.

Knight serves as the co-host of the Nationals’ pre-game and post-game TV shows. He was a major league player for 13 years for several teams, including the Baltimore Orioles and New York Mets and was selected twice as an All-Star player. He served as a coach and manager for the Cincinnati Reds.

His apology came one week before more than 3,000 LGBT baseball fans are expected to turn out for the annual Night Out at the Nationals game on June 21 at Washington Nationals Stadium in D.C.

Brent Minor, an official with Team D.C., the LGBT sports group that organizes the annual Night Out event at Nationals Stadium, said the Nationals have been “very supportive” of the LGBT community and have made Team D.C. and gay Nationals fans feel welcome. He noted that the Nationals had a booth at D.C.’s Capital Pride festival last Sunday and they regularly support other LGBT- and AIDS-related events and causes.

Alexandra Schauffler, a spokesperson for the Nationals, said the team had no comment on Knight’s use of the word “sissy.”

But the Nationals vice president for communications and brand development, Lara Potter, issued a statement to the Blade listing the Nationals’ recent actions in support of various LGBT-related events and causes in D.C., including next week’s Night Out with the Nationals event.

“[T]he Nationals are proud supporters of the LGBT community and have been since the team came back to D.C. in 2005,” she said.

Among other things, Potter noted that the Nationals will show on its video screen during the Night Out game a public service video from the It Gets Better Project, which seeks to curtail LGBT teen suicide.

She did not say whether the Nationals would join the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs in sponsoring ongoing promotional campaigns for the It Gets Better Project.

Knight’s apology also came after he learned through the Blade that Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national group that advocates against LGBT teen bullying in the nation’s schools, expressed concern over his sissy remark.

“He could have had all the opinions he had and if you take away the sissy part I don’t see it as a problem,” said Byard, who describes herself as a longtime baseball fan.

Byard said the world “sissy” is often used as a code word for gay men or a derogatory term for women, and the term is offensive to both women and LGBT people.

“What Ray Knight did was give us a case study in how sexism and homophobia live in athletics,” she said.

“It has to be called out. It needs dialogue,” she said. “It may surprise Ray Knight to know that there are baseball fans out there that don’t have a problem with pitches that are high and tight but really, really don’t like it when he talks about it in terms that are denigrating to women and gay people.”

After being told of Byard’s concerns, Knight said he regrets using the word during his television commentary.

“I never thought about it that way, never took it in that connotation,” he said. “Certainly, never in a million years would I ever say anything that would offend someone. And if you knew me you would know that.”

Byard was relieved to hear of Knight’s apology.

“I appreciate that Ray took the time to learn about a word that is thrown around carelessly on playgrounds across the country to demean others,” Byard said. “I’m glad to hear that he will no longer use the word now that he understands its origins and impact,” she said.

“Good for him. I hope others will follow his lead and think carefully about the words they use in order to make their points forcefully but respectfully. Disrespect for others has no place in baseball or any other sport. Pitching inside, on the other hand, is still OK.”

Knight said he has followed in the news the issue of anti-LGBT bullying and supports efforts being waged by groups like GLSEN to discourage bullying in schools and elsewhere.

But when told that GLSEN and D.C.’s Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL), among other groups, have reported that the term sissy is often used in bullying episodes against LGBT teens, Knight said he was not aware of that.

Michael Solem, the lead organizer of G-Nats, an LGBT Nationals fan club, said he didn’t think Knight’s “sissy” remark was intended to be malicious.

“People can make poor choices of words, especially in live broadcasts,” Solem said. “I think Knight was simply implying baseball players shouldn’t be ‘wimps’ or ‘crybabies’ when it comes to getting hit.”

Related Topics:Homepage Headlines Ray Knight Washington Nationals

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Delaware

Historic New Castle to host Pride Market this weekend

Delaware town offers event with more than 55 vendors

Published

2 days ago

May 31, 2025

Abigail Hatting

(Washington Blade photo by Ernesto Valle)

The town of New Castle, Del., will host a Pride Market on Sunday, the first day of Pride month.

The event is hosted by the Delaware Sexuality and Gender Collective and features more than 55 LGBTQ-aligned businesses and resources, including Planned Parenthood of Delaware, the ACLU of Delaware, Orgullo Delaware, and New Castle Public Library. The event runs from 12-5 p.m. at 3rd Street and Delaware Street on The Green, an open space and market square.

The inaugural Pride Market in November 2024 was the first market in the town’s history dedicated to the LGBTQ community. The Pride Market is “designed to be an affirming space for LGBTQ businesses and individuals to join together as a community,” according to the Facebook page.

New Castle was founded in the 1650s by Dutch settlers with weekly markets on The Green beginning in 1655. The area features historically significant buildings like the 1732 Court House, the 1799 New Castle Academy, and an 1809 U.S. arsenal. Delaware Pride is scheduled for June 7 in Dover.

Maryland

Annapolis Pride postponed due to weather

Parade and festival will not happen as scheduled, other events to take place

Published

2 days ago

May 30, 2025

Joe Reberkenny

Annapolis Pride postponed. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The annual celebration of the Annapolis LGBTQ community has been put on hold due to forecasted severe weather.

The Annapolis Pride parade and festival, both of which were supposed to take place on May 31, have been postponed until a later date.

Annapolis Pride Board Chair Joe Toolan announced the decision this afternoon, citing information given to the Pride board from emergency management agencies and weather forecasting models.

“The safety of our community comes first,” Toolan said. “Based on guidance from the Annapolis Office of Emergency Management and the National Weather Service, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the 2025 Annapolis Pride Parade and Festival due to the very real threat of severe thunderstorms, lightning, and flooding.

“We are hoping to reschedule for some time this fall,” he added.

The National Weather Service has issued tornado and flood watches for large portions of the Mid-Atlantic area, more specifically in areas of Virginia, D.C., and Maryland — including Anne Arundel County where Annapolis is located.

The tornado watch only lasts until midnight, but the impacts of heavy downpours in the area can already be seen where the parade and festival were set to take place. The festival grounds at Bates Middle School are already experiencing flooding and over-saturation, and a flood watch remains in effect with more rain forecast for tonight and tomorrow.

“We are all sad and terribly disappointed that we cannot proceed with the parade and festival on Saturday,” Toolan said. “Hundreds of hours have been spent on planning and coordination, and we were expecting tens of thousands of attendees. But at the end of the day, safety concerns outweigh all other concerns.”

Toolan said the Pride board will announce a rescheduled date as soon as it is confirmed.

Even though the Annapolis Pride parade and festival have been postponed, there are a slew of other planned Pride events that will go on as scheduled:

May 30 – Ladies Night – SOLD OUT
6–10 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis

June 1 – Drag Brunch at Leo – SOLD OUT
10 a.m., Leo Annapolis Restaurant, 212 West St.

June 1 – Ecumenical Pride Worship Service
3 p.m., Eastport United Methodist Church, Annapolis

June 3 – Annapolis Pride Beer Launch
4–7 p.m., Forward Brewing, Annapolis

June 5 – Pride on the Pier
6–9 p.m., Bread and Butter Kitchen, Annapolis

June 6 – Big Gay Dance Party
10 p.m.–close, Tsunami Restaurant, 51 West St., Annapolis

June 7 – Pop-Up Market: Benefiting Annapolis Pride
10 a.m.–3 p.m., Annapolis Town Center
Special discounts @Kendra Scott 6/7–6/8

June 14 – Silent Disco
7–11 p.m., Eastport Democratic Club, Annapolis

June 21 – Teen Dance Party
6–9 p.m., Art Farm, Annapolis
For high school freshmen – juniors

*ticketed event

For more information on the postponement of Annapolis Pride, visit https://annapolispride.org/

District of Columbia

Bowser raises Pride flag over Wilson Building

Council members joined mayor to welcome WorldPride to D.C.

Published

2 days ago

May 30, 2025

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

(Washington Blade photo by Robert Rapanut)

Close to 200 people turned out on Thursday, May 29, to watch D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, joined by members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Capital Pride Alliance, raise a large Pride flag on a tall flagpole in front of the John Wilson D.C. City Hall building.

The mayor, who joined others in speaking from a podium on the front steps of the Wilson Building, called the event the city’s official welcoming ceremony for hosting WordPride 2025 DC in the nation’s capital.

World Pride events, which began May 17, continue through June 8.

“Happy WorldPride in the gayest city in America,” Bowser told the crowd to loud cheers and applause.

*(Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)*

Joining Bowser were five members of the D.C. Council, including gay Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), who was among the Council members who also spoke at the event.

Also speaking were Ryan Bos, executive director of Capital Pride Alliance, the local LGBTQ group serving as lead organizer of WorldPride 2025, and Capital Pride Alliance Deputy Director June Crenshaw.

“This flag tells a story of love without apology,” Crenshaw said in her remarks at the podium. “Our community has never backed down, and we will not at this time of challenge,” she said.

Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, told the gathering that the city and especially Bowser and all city officials were proud to host WorldPride at the time of the 50th anniversary of Pride celebrations in D.C.

Among those attending the event and sitting in a front row seat was longtime D.C. gay activist Deacon Maccubbin, who organized the city’s first Gay Pride Day celebration in 1975. He was joined by his husband, Jim Bennett.

During the ceremony Bowser also presented Capital Pride Alliance officials with a mayoral proclamation proclaiming Thursday, May 29, 2025, as “A Day of Remembrance For Bernie Delia in Washington, D.C.” Delia, a longtime Capital Pride Alliance official and one of the lead organizers of WorldPride 2025, died unexpectedly of natural causes June 21, 2024

The other Council members participating in the event in addition to Parker were Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), Matthew Ruman (D-Ward 3), and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6)

The Council members, Capital Pride officials, and LGBTQ community members stood next to Bowser as she raised the large Pride flag on a pole located to the right of the front steps and main entrance of the Wilson Building.