I wasn’t aware that this was a trend, but apparently it’s common at baseball games for the “Kiss Cam” to train itself on two presumably heterosexual dudes, who then have to smooch for the entire audience, because it’s “funny” to put them in an awkward spot like that.
NBC Sports showcased a tweet from Oakland Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy, who railed against the practice: “They put two guys on the ‘Kiss Cam’ tonight. What hilarity!! (by hilarity I mean offensive homophobia). Enough with this stupid trend.”
Good on him for calling out a practice that belittles homosexuality to something embarrassing that two straight men are forced into for cheap laughs.
But couldn’t we also start advocating for real live gay men to be featured on the kiss cam? Ten dollars for whoever wears an “I’m really gay—Put me on the Kiss Cam” t-shirt to a baseball game.
cam
Funny, I thought this was going to be an article about some player who is anti-gay.
We keep reading about more and more players that have wonderful attitudes.
Maybe in such an environment players will finally feel comfortable enough to come out of the closet!
Mark
You know, in all of my time as a gay man it was the straight jock dudes who were some of my most supportive allies.
Allen D.
I also thought this was going to be about an anti-gay athlete. Glad it’s not.
Matt
Yeah – the way you worded the headline, i thought it was going to be another homophobic pro player ranting – glad I read into it further.
Good for Brandon.
Jay Wilson
So if they make two straight girls do it would that be considered hot still? Maybe neither should happen?
mike128
Misleading headline…
Red Meat
Respect + 100
Hotness + 1000
1equalityUSA
Got to first base
Maxx E Padd
Another reason to be an A’s fan as well as a S.F. Giant fan who were the first MLB team to do an ‘It’s get better’ video.
I for one do not believe that major league sports is as homophobic as it once was. There are some cultural issues that need to be address but really do we think now a days that most professional athelets do not have a gay or lesbian member of their family?
samo
Of course 2 straight girls who didn’t look like lesbians would be considered hot and cheered on but 2 women who look like lesbians would not go over to well at all I mean if they were really butch it would be like watching 2 dudes kiss which is gross and unnatural(sarcasm).
jason
Have you ever thought that Brandon McCarthy might be offended by the sight of two men kissing regardless of whether they are in love or not? It would be interesting to find out what his real motivation is.
Don’t interpret his tweets as necessarily being pro-gay. There could be a masked homophobia there.
You also have to realize that most men are not straight or gay. Get out of your strictly narrow mindsets. Most men are capable of swinging both ways. Perhaps this kiss cam on presumably straight guys is actually encouraging them to realize their same-sex side.
Hank Claypole
Wouldn’t it be cool if two guys focused on just kissed, regardless of sexuality, and we could focus on something other than hate or fear!!!!!
Myself
@ samo
Hmmmm…one must google “Lesbian Looking” and see what kind of photos we can find. When I look up “dog” or “cat” I see many kinds of that species. All neatly fit under the category of “dog” or “cat”. Perhaps, human beings come in kinds of looks, shapes, hues, and sizes, too. Maybe there really isn’t a “straight-looking” or “gay-looking”. Maybe it is all BS!
By the way, seeing two people (regardless of gender, race, body type, or age) share a spontaneous moment of affection (kissing, hugging, etc.) is beautiful, natural…and only gross to soul-less people. (btw, sarcasm seems inappropriate in view of the rampant homophobia and sexual insecurity of the general public)
jason
Why do they even need a kiss cam? Shouldn’t kissing be something you do in private? I don’t do my laundry in the middle of the street, I don’t piss on walls on Broadway, I don’t sleep in the foyer of Wal Mart.
samo
Myself no13 most straight guys I know ARE grossed out or not turned on by 2 guys kissing that’s all there is to it. What’s interesting is that most of them are for gay rights they just don’t wanna see 2 dudes going at it and no it does not mean that they are closet cased. Most men are straight.
jason
samo,
We should not base our values on what straight guys like to watch. Voyeurism is not a good basis for values.
Riker
@jason: A tweet calling other people out on homophobia is actually homophobic? That’s a new one.
As for the kiss cam, its a tradition at most MLB stadiums at some point between innings to highlight families/couples in the stands. The kisses shown are generally mild smooches, not obscene.
jason
Riker,
I’m simply saying that sometimes a homophobe will pretend to be against homophobia when what he’s really against is homosexuality.
michael
Samo, you are obviously not very attractive or you would know most guys aren’t that straight. Go find a sexually attractive gay man and ask him how many guys are into cruising when no one else is looking.
michael
Btw, to answer my own question, about 80% of them. Have you noticed the guys who hate gay men are the men no gay man would find attractive? Do the math.
samo
I get hit on all the time by gay men and women I’ve even had straight guys tell me that I’m good looking but that they just don’t get how a guy could wanna hook up with another guy. By boyfriend is also a masculine built gay guy like me and we laugh all the time when women or effiminate gay men hit on us. Even if were single we still wouldn’t go out with them.
samo
Withou tooting my own horn I’ve met numerous people who’ve asked me if I’m a model or movie star because of my good looks I’ve had other gay men tell me I’m like a dream to gay men because of my masculinity and good looks. Before I started dating my currenr boyfriend I had a 2 year span where I was promiscuous and fooled around with some straight guys but the bottom line was that they’re still straight and it was just getti g off /experimentation it doesn’t mean that they’re gay or bi. Me and my hot straight buddy chris used to blow each other a handful of times and even he told me that 2 men having hardcore amal sex is gross to him. Go figure
Belize
@samo: So to summarize that gist of your comment and your philosophy, you believe that gay men, including yourself, should be submissive. LOL. Not very “macho” of you. Plus, considering how dumb you are, I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t even see the hypocrisy in your comment. Don’t burst a vein trying to figure it out though. We wouldn’t want your “boyfriend” (LOL) to start crying like a little bitch when you die.
Oh, and forgive me if I don’t believe you when you say that you’re attractive. Considering the hilarious stupidity of your comments, I wouldn’t be surprised if you believe that getting hit is the same as getting hit on.
Belize
“people who’ve asked me if I’m a model or movie star because of my good looks”
LOL. Are you sure it’s not because they think they’ve seen you in Shrek?
Robert in NYC
@samo: Yet a straight male having hardcore anal sex with a female isn’t gross to him. Go figure!
Bob31
Very well written article. Shows how some of use (mis)perceive athletes in general.
Mark
@jason: “Brandon McCarthy, who railed against the practice: “They put two guys on the ‘Kiss Cam’ tonight. What hilarity!! (by hilarity I mean offensive homophobia). Enough with this stupid trend.”
Pay attention to what he said.
Thomas
i would do it and give them something to think about. being as gay as i am, it would descend into hair pulling, nipple pinching and face licking deep kiss.
tommysole
i would do it and give them something to think about. being as strange as i am, it would descend into hair pulling, nipple pinching and face licking deep kiss.
NovaNardis
Might want to change this headline, Queerty. It makes it sound like the pitcher is a homophobe, and that’s directly the opposite of what happened.
Good on him!
J Stratford
I thought they only did this on Valentines Day….
Cyn
@jason: Not only was McCarthy specific in his tweet that he thought it was homophobic, but in a follow up interview he explained his views more clearly.:
//There’s that stupid, little comedic value of it if you don’t really think about what it implies,” McCarthy told the newspaper. “It kind of got old on that level. Then I actually started thinking about why we were supposed to be laughing, and it bugged me.”
McCarthy also pointed out that such gags are counterproductive to the “It Gets Better” anti-hate campaigns in which many Major League Baseball players have participated.
“If there are gay people who are coming to a game and seeing something like that, you can’t assume they’re comfortable with it,” McCarthy told the San Francisco Chronicle. “If you’re even making a small group of people … feel like outcasts, then you’re going against what makes your model successful.”//
http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2012-04-25/brandon-mccarthy-twitter-kiss-cam-homophobia-oakland-as#ixzz1tA6VO8Wg