Today is Spirit Day and GLAAD is proud to announce that for a third year in a row Major League Baseball is showing support for LGBT youth through social media, asking fans to take a stand on bullying against LGBT youth. The gesture marks a growing awareness and support surrounding queerness within the sports world.
All 30 of MLB's teams have changed their avatar and/or include a Spirit Day post on their social media websites.
Furthermore, tonight at Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Cardinals and Giants at AT&T Park (8 p.m. ET, FOX) Major League Baseball will make a public announcement to learn more about Spirit Day and how to be involved.
Wear your purple !! #betrue #MLBPlayoffs #lgbtspiritday #MLB
http://t.co/1oXVL0Tk4w
— Billy Bean (@billybeanball) October 16, 2014Billy Bean, a former professional baseball player who is now the ambassador for inclusion for Major League Baseball, showed his support through the social media and he visited the Hetrick-Martin Institute. In a moving speech he stated: "Spirit Day participation is a victory for all of us, but I know that everyone is still not ready to jump on board, and it's my job to find a way to make that happen. I can't help but think about when I was playing. As a man struggling in the closet, seeing baseball supporting this initiative would have been a game changer for me."
Mariners ace Felix Hernandez accompanied by Macklemore met with a group of kids from Seattle, took pictures and talked to them about individual pride and respect. "Everyone deserves to be respected," Hernandes said. "Everyone deserves to be safe at school. If they want to be themselves, let them be themselves." Macklemore' s message echoed loudly stating: "We all know what it feels like to be bullied, to be picked on, it feels horrible. No kid should have to endure that. It should be a world of positivity, a community of positivity, where kids can be who they want to be, not be judged, dress how they want to dress, love who they want to love, and just be who they are without anybody else's scrutiny."
Spirit Day, which takes place today, October 16, inspires millions to wear purple or "go purple" online in a united stand against bullying and to show their support for LGBT youth. Each year, Spirit Day draws the participation of celebrities, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, and individuals. Spirit Day is made possible by the generous support of its national partners PepsiCo and Wells Fargo, as well as official partners Comcast-NBCUniversal and Google, and supporting partner American Eagle Outfitters. To watch the full video click the link above.
You can go purple now by putting on purple, posting about #spiritday, and sharing your favorite #spiritday posts on social media.
Check out glaad.org/spiritday for more about how to stand against anti-LGBT bullying and follow @GLAAD on Twitter to keep up to date with #spiritday news!
