Is baseball ready for an openly gay player?

There is a gay player in Major League Baseball.

The assertion itself does not seem so unimaginable; after all, some 750 men participate in MLB on any given day. So to claim that there are homosexuals among those 750 does not seem unheard of.

Nevertheless, the recently released May issue of Out Magazine, a gay/lesbian magazine based in New York, sent the worlds of professional sports and tabloid media reeling.

In the issue, Out editor Brendan Lemon wrote, "For the past year and a half, I have been having an affair with a pro baseball player from a major-league East Coast franchise."

Questions abounded about who the player could be. Speculation abounds. And this player hits the field every day with this hanging over his head.

What was Lemon's motivation in penning this article? One has to wonder. Is he trying to coax his boyfriend out of the closet? Is he trying to show that homosexuality is mainstream? Is he simply trying to sell magazines? It's hard to say. But let's hope that if this player is indeed "outed," it is of his own accord.

After all, let's face it. This player is in for it, if he ever comes out of the closet. How will his teammates react? How will the team administration react? How will the fans of his team react? How will other team's fans react?

Right or wrong, this guy will become the most ridiculed sports figure in history. Forget O.J. Forget Darryl Strawberry. Forget John Rocker. Those guys merely murdered, abused drugs and had ran their mouth. Not to mention the many other pro athletes who abuse alcohol, cheat on their wives, gamble heavily, and commit sexual assault. This player committed the worst sin in America today-being homosexual.

Lemon claims that "I'm pretty confident there'd be more support from the team than he imagines." and "Most of these straight guys don't have a problem with homosexuality." He is either grossly misinformed or in denial. If this player comes out of the closet, he will suddenly be the loneliest guy in the big leagues. Sure, the gay/lesbian community will rally around him, but this minority is already ignored.

Some would compare the first gay player to the first black player, Jackie Robinson. And while Robinson paved the way for many others to come, the difference is that Robinson was brought into the league as a black player, this gay player has already been in the league, likely for years. I think this would make it that much harder for people to cope with.

Pro athletes are revered in this country. They are larger than life, macho, and heroes. Will a homosexual player be able to continue those roles? Probably not.

The sad fact is that Major League Baseball is not ready for an openly gay player.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.