I stand by what I said. (Closer).(gays in professional baseball)

They say I should be released. They say I should be fined. They say they will protest the Rockies. They think I'm a gay-hater, a narrow-minded redneck from Alabama who ain't never been nowhere. They say I'm homophobic and need to move into the 21st century.

I stand by what I said, but I'd like to tell you the context of how it happened.

Four weeks ago, a writer from the Denver Post was working on a piece on some play about a gay baseball player. He asked me what I thought would happen if a player came out and said he was gay. All of my comments were based on what I thought it would do to the team as it pertains to life in the clubhouse, not the outside world.

The one thing many people don't understand is just how delicate the clubhouse atmosphere is. If there were a gay guy on the team, you can't tell me that it wouldn't be a huge distraction from what the team was trying to accomplish. It would be harder if he were open and out about his lifestyle. Some guys would have no problem with him, other guys would be willing to overlook it as long as they didn't feel threatened. Some guys would hate it. It would be very uncomfortable.

You might ask why, why, why are guys so hung up on this issue? Because of the closeness of the clubhouse. Nothing is sacred. Guys shower together; there are no dividers. Guys go in, do their ...