Major League Baseball made a homerun for our LGBT community yesterday by taking a major step to help any closeted gay player come out if he chooses while still active on the field. MLB announced that its new Collective Bargaining Agreement will prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The National Football League made the same change in September. After the NFL added sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policy, Rafael McDonnell of Resource Center Dallas wrote a letter to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig calling for pro baseball to follow suit, reports the Dallas Voice. McDonnell received responses from both Selig and MLB Executive Vice President Robert Manfred Jr. "While it is my policy not to comment on matters currently on the table, I think it is safe to say the issue you have raised will be addressed in a positive way," Manfred wrote to McDonnell, the Voice reports. As you know several MLB teams released an "It Gets Better" video after the San Francisco Giants were the first including the Boston Red Sox.
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I think this is an important step forward for Major League Baseball. Not only does it add needed protections for gay and lesbian employees, it sends a message to fans that discrimination in the sport will not be tolerated. It is inevitable that an active Major League Baseball player will come out soon and I think this will help make that process easier.
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