In a new editorial, a sports writer for NBC Sports attacked members of the Chicago Cubs who announced displeasure at Major League Baseball’s new anti-hazing rules, which could prevent the practice of forcing rookies to parade around the clubhouse dressed like women.
NBC Sports’ Bill Baer slammed Cubs catcher Miguel Montero who recently told ESPN that he thought the new rules were “BS.”
“I think it’s B.S. It’s about making guys uncomfortable. I always say: Get uncomfortable to get comfortable. That’s what we try to do,” Montero said.
But, the Cubs player’s pronouncement didn’t sit well with Bill Baer. The NBC reporter attacked the hazing as “demonizing women, feminine men, and transgender people,” and went on to accuse Montero and others of “punching down at oppressed groups to get laughs.”
If it were truly only about making someone uncomfortable, then the new rule shouldn’t be an impediment. There are many ways to make a teammate feel uncomfortable without demonizing women, feminine men, and transgender people, just to name a few. Montero suggested off of the top of his head that their dress-up shenanigans could include wearing wrestling tights through the airport on a road trip. Jake Arrieta and Justin Grimm suggested making the rookies wear Speedos. And those are fine ideas. They don’t punch down at oppressed groups to get laughs.
Baer ended his piece advising Cubs manager Joe Maddon to take his players to a Halloween costume shop.
“There are plenty of ways to dress players up in something embarrassing or uncomfortable that doesn’t make femininity the butt of the joke,” Baer insisted.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.