As much as they enjoyed the previous day\u2019s game, and raved about that facility, they asked the following at the Rangers\u2019 game against the Twins:<\/p>\n
1. What is the penalty for a foul ball?<\/p>\n
2. Why is there another baseball stadium right across the street from this one?<\/p>\n
3. How are there so many people here in the middle of the day; don\u2019t they have jobs?<\/p>\n
4. The (Rangers) don\u2019t have a Pride Night? Why not? Are they homophobic?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s June, which means the Rangers make their annual return to the headlines as the only team in Major League Baseball not to host a Pride Night.<\/p>\n
(FWIW: These lads said Pride Night-themes exist in pro football overseas, usually with players wearing an arm band; an increasing number of Muslim players do not participate.)<\/p>\n
These two unknowingly were in town for the Rangers\u2019 \u201cFaith and Family Night\u201d on Thursday. Would have been better had the Rangers waited for this one \u2018til Aug. 3, when they play the San Francisco Giants.<\/p>\n
This promotion makes a lot of their fans happy, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who took a break on his Twitter feed from licking the toes of the president to praise the Rangers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeanwhile, MLB just warned Giants pitchers for writing Bible verses on their own caps. In Texas, we don\u2019t punish people for living out their faith. We protect that right,\u201d Abbott wrote in a statement that sounded like he bounced it off Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a> before publishing it.<\/p>\n Scrap all of it. No more Pride Night. No Faith and Family Night. Let MLB players wear a Bible verse on their hats, or a rainbow path. Or both.<\/p>\n \u201cPride Night\u201d started as a kind, inclusionary gesture to a large group of people who too often are diminished, mocked, ridiculed and misunderstood. It has morphed into yet another line of division and a point of exclusion.<\/p>\n As long as Ray Davis is the primary owner, don\u2019t expect the Rangers to host a Pride Night; it\u2019s his team, and he clearly doesn\u2019t mind if it puts his franchise in a bad light to some all over the nation for a few weeks every June.<\/p>\n Under Davis, this is who the Rangers are: they\u2019re the franchise that proudly displays a controversial statue<\/a> of a Texas Rangers lawman in the left field plaza. As evidenced by the people waiting in line to have their picture taken with the statue on Thursday, a lot of fans like the Rangers under Ray Davis.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t, don\u2019t go.<\/p>\n The Rangers\u2019 Faith and Family Night<\/p>\n Full disclosure: When Rangers fans walked into Globe Life Mall on Thursday they were not met by a flock of people who just needed a few minutes of their time before they load up on nachos and a 24 oz. can of Shiner. They weren\u2019t handed any literature. No open boxes of free Bibles.<\/p>\n There were no sermons. There was no \u201cBaptism by the Bullpen\u201d promotion.<\/p>\n When fans walked into Globe Life Mall, they were handed a free sleeveless replica jersey for former Texas Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler, who happens to be Jewish.<\/p>\n The walkup music for players was not \u201cAmazing Grace,\u201d or \u201cOh Happy Day.\u201d<\/p>\n Other than some members of the team talking about their faith to fans after the 9-3 loss to the Twins<\/a>, \u201cFaith and Family Night\u201d sounds more than it actually is. The Rangers have done this sort of thing before, and it was a big hit years ago when outfielder Josh Hamilton was the featured speaker.<\/p>\n The only reason the Faith and Family night received any attention is because the team remains rooted in not having anything related to \u201cpride,\u201d thus creating bad optics.<\/p>\n Rangers should follow manager Skip Schumaker\u2019s lead on this one<\/p>\n Rangers manager Skip Schumaker has a few tattoos<\/a> on his arm, but he will be the first one to tell you that he will attend a Bible study, but never lead it.<\/p>\n Before the game on Thursday, he said he was not raised in a home where faith was a priority. It was not until he was in college when his coach asked him to attend a service, did faith enter his life.<\/p>\n \u201cAs far as my position, I don\u2019t push it on anyone. That\u2019s not what I am,\u201d he said. \u201cI try to live my life in a way where I have values, and when people ask, I will tell them about it, but I am not a guy who is going to push anything.\u201d<\/p>\n No, the Rangers aren\u2019t homophobic, but the question has merit when you host a \u201cFaith and Family Night\u201d and not a \u201cPride Night.\u201d<\/p>\n Mac Engel<\/a><\/p>\n Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality.
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