But it was all in the name of love.
With the White Sox and Royals playing earlier this week, Gordon Beckham decided to leave a message in the infield dirt for his fellow second baseman, former teammate and good friend Chris Getz.
“GETZ IS GAY! GB”
It never got picked up by the tv cameras, but fans noticed and a controversy has slowly been brewing.
“Wow,” Beckham said when asked about it by Rick Telander of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Chris is one of my best friends. It was a joke. I didn’t know anybody could see. I didn’t mean anything, you know?”
Of course, it didn’t. Beckham didn’t intend any harm. But it was a stupid act, and in the times that we live in, any major league baseball player should know better.
White Sox GM Ken Williams agreed:But I’m just disappointed for this to come on the heels of the Kobe Bryant thing, and [Joakim] Noah, and, yes, a number of years ago, the issue with Ozzie [Guillen]. There just needs to be a greater awareness of when you’re in the public eye. Something between two friends meant as a joke? Well, you’re representing not just yourself, but your team, your sport, your family.
The organization didn’t do it. He did it. He should apologize for making us less than what we stand for.Beckham did apologize through the Sun-Times, and he’ll probably have to apologize at least a couple of more times before the issue melts away. He appears to be terribly embarrassed by the whole thing, and it’s clear he won’t be making any similar mistakes again.
