Summer is here! For many students, school is out. Like most parents, my wife and I are enjoying making plans for spending time as a family. The schedule is filling up with activities like hiking, swimming, vacation, movies, sport camps, and—ball games. Nothing says summer like a baseball game and a hot dog.
There is, however, one ball game this summer that our family will not attend. On June 27, the Arizona Diamondbacks will hold a Pride Night at Chase Field. This event showcases the Diamondbacks’ support for LGBT+ issues, such as boys competing in girls’ sports. They will organize a “Rainbow Walk” on the field before the game, and give away a Diamondbacks jersey emblazoned in pride colors. The team website lists a broad group of LGBT+ allied organizations committed to teaching children about homosexuality, that “gender” is a choice, and that married mothers and fathers are not an essential part of family life.
I grew up loving baseball. I fell in love with the sport while watching the 1986 World Series with my dad. As a boy, my room was decorated with posters of diamond heroes. I got a huge baseball statistics book—you probably know the one I’m talking about—the one thicker than most dictionaries. I combed through it regularly, relishing the statistical nuances going way beyond the numbers on the back of baseball cards. And those baseball cards…so many! The never-ending quests to find rare rookie cards, trading with friends, and looking up the ponderous “value” of my collection. That collection never did pay off—but that wasn’t the point. The love the of the game is part of childhood.
Pride Night at the ballpark wraps great American pastime in sexual-identity politics. Why? Why are the Diamondbacks allowing their team and brand to be comprehensively intertwined with an agenda that puts adults before children and aggressively sends harmful messages like the sexes—male and female—are manipulative social constructs; or that it is not important that children be raised with a mother and a father?
The Diamondbacks are not alone in this. In June, or what LGBT+ groups promote as “Pride Month”, 29 of the 30 MLB teams participate in Pride events to varying degrees. Some teams simply offer a themed giveaway on a designated night. But the Diamondbacks take it even further with their parade and extensive partnerships. Only the Texas Rangers have chosen not to host any Pride-themed events at all.
It’s worth noting that, in 2023, MLB itself recognized some of the concerns surrounding these events. The league advised teams not to integrate LGBT+ themes into player attire or equipment, acknowledging that this ideology conflicts with many fans’ deeply held beliefs. Nevertheless, organizations like the Diamondbacks continue to push these same messages on families who just want to watch baseball.
Pride day, pride month, and pride-themed celebrations unambiguously celebrate approaches to sexuality that reject God’s good design for sex. Many pride celebrations—like Pride Night at Chase Field—are designed as broad outreach events: to spread an ideological message widely, even to those who simply want to enjoy some baseball.
The message is clear: Support this. Celebrate this. Teach your kids that doing so is compassionate and inclusive. If you don’t, you are hateful and a bad community member.
That’s just the problem. I don’t support or celebrate this ideology—and I won’t put my children in an environment intentionally designed to promote an agenda that clashes with God’s beautiful design for men, women, and families.
So, I wrote to the Diamondbacks to tell them that my family and I will not attend Pride Night at Chase Field and asked them to stop associating the team with organizations that promote reckless agendas—like “sex-change” surgeries for children.
I figured it was important for them to hear from me. I’m sure there are some persuasive voices telling the Diamondbacks’ leadership that Pride Night is a great idea. But this moment is too important for me to stay silent—more is at stake than just baseball.
What can you do?
So, I have a few requests for you and other parents who share these concerns.
First, please reach out to the Diamondbacks and respectfully share your concerns. They can be reached at fanfeedback@dbacks.com.
Second, forward this article to friends. The Diamondbacks have taken a very public position. I’m sure your feedback will be useful as they consider whether Pride Night will be a permanent part of baseball in Arizona.
Thank you for joining me in asking the Diamondbacks to stick to baseball.
Finally, this article addresses a difficult topic. From personal experience, I know discussions on these issues can be deeply painful. If that is you—if my words stir any hurt—I want you to know that God loves you.
God’s love does not discriminate. His love is spectacular, and it extends to everyone. How do I know this? Because God sent Jesus for us. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. To be clear: this article focuses on right and wrong in the context of human sexuality—but the Bible treats sexual sin worse than any other form of sin.
And here is the truth: I am broken. I am sinful. On my own, I don’t belong anywhere near the presence of God. But because of Jesus’s sacrifice for me, I am welcome in the presence of the God who made me. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. The righteousness of God—His own perfect character—is the answer for my sin. Only God can remove my sins and give me His sinless character. Because of Jesus, I have a new standing before God— “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12. He did it for me. And Jesus is the complete answer for anyone who puts their trust in Him.
IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK
The Daily Signal exposes how school choice opponents like Save Our Schools Arizona blame ESAs for Roosevelt School District closing five schools. But Jason Bedrick and Matthew Ladner reveal the real story: Parents fleeing a district with 13% math proficiency, rampant bullying, and failing leadership. The facts? 91% of families leaving choose other public schools, not ESAs.
ICYMI
- Read the truth about chemical abortion and why “choice” demands new scrutiny.
- Learn how state officials begin budget talks as deadline looms.
- See how Arizona enacts bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Julie Willoughby (R-LD13) to support mothers with postpartum depression.
- Read more on abortion businesses filing lawsuit to end pro-life protections in Arizona. [CAP mentioned]
- Hear the shocking audio of a 9th grade lecture in a Catalina Foothills classroom on LGBT+ issues.