interesting article on freedom of association

[CA_Scouter]

A view from a different perspective... take note of the last paragraph.

 

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Not gay enough - softball players sue

 

All Steven Apilado, LaRon Charles and Jon Russ wanted to do was to win the championship game at the Gay Softball World Series for their amateur San Francisco team.

 

But instead, they were marched one by one into a conference room at the tournament in suburban Seattle and asked about their "private sexual attractions and desires," and their team was stripped of its second-place finish after the men were determined to be "non-gay," they said in a lawsuit accusing a national gay sports organization of discrimination.

 

The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, pits the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a San Francisco group backing the men, against the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, which prides itself on barring discrimination based on sexual orientation.

 

At issue is whether the gay sports alliance violated Washington state's public accommodations laws by enforcing a rule limiting to two the number of heterosexuals who can play on a team. Officials with the San Francisco lesbian advocacy group say the three men identify themselves as bisexual, but their sexual orientation is not discussed in the suit.

 

Apilado, Charles and Russ were members of D2, a team that was part of the San Francisco Gay Softball League. The squad made it to the championship game at the August 2008 tournament in Kent, Wash.

 

But another team, the Atlanta Mudcats, which had lost to D2 in a semifinal game, complained that the San Francisco team had too many straights.

 

D2 ultimately lost the championship to a team from Los Angeles. Afterward, Apilado, Charles and Russ were called separately into a conference room in front of 25 people for a hearing to determine whether they were heterosexual or gay, the suit said.

 

They were asked "very intrusive, sexual questions," including what their sexual interests and preferences were, Suzanne Thomas, a Seattle attorney for the plaintiffs, said Wednesday.

 

Charles, who was D2's manager, asked whether he could say he was bisexual and was told, "This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series," the suit said.

 

According to Charles' Facebook profile, he is married to a woman.

 

In a statement, Charles said, "When you play softball, you never expect for anyone to corner you and ask you personal questions about who you are and what you do. It was emotional for me as a coach to go in there and not only get grilled, but watch my team be put in this situation."

 

The alliance ultimately determined that the three men were "non-gay" and that D2 had broken the rules. The alliance placed the San Francisco Gay Softball League on probation, "with the consequence that if a San Francisco team is found to have too many 'non-gay' players on its roster again," the league will be expelled, the suit said.

 

D2 has since disbanded, but the plaintiffs each want at least $75,000 in damages and their second-place standing reinstated, along with a team trophy.

 

Thomas said the men were essentially branded as "not gay enough."

 

"It engages in a whole series of stereotyping that somehow, gay men are less able players than straight men," the attorney said.

 

Beth Allen, an attorney for the alliance, said Wednesday that the suit has no merit and that none of the plaintiffs suffered any discrimination.

 

She said the San Francisco league had at one point suggested removing the "heterosexual limit."

 

"Presumably, if that were to occur, teams could be comprised of heterosexual players only," Allen said.

 

"This is not a bisexuals vs. gays issue," she said. "It's whether a private organization may say who may be a member of their organization. It's an issue of freedom of association."

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/21/BAS51D26LD.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0ln5AWO2l'>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/21/BAS51D26LD.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0ln5AWO2l

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/21/BAS51D26LD.DTL&tsp=1

 

 

[dg98adams]

eh, not really interested in following the link.. Surprised I read the entire post.

[evmori]

Now this is funny!

[Gunny2862]

While there is plenty of interest here, This is what I find second to the center of this article, "The suit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, pits the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a San Francisco group backing the men, against the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance, which prides itself on barring discrimination based on sexual orientation." italics added.

[Trevorum]

I had to follow the link to make sure this wasn't from the Onion.

[Gunny2862]

Trev, ditto..

[scoutingagain]

Bet they do a background check to find out one of these guys is a member of BSA to prove he's not Gay.

 

SA

[acco40]

The USA has many laws, preferences, determinations that are based on race, sexual orientation and other such things that don't really have a strict definition. Teresa Heinz almost became the first "African-American" first lady. She was born in Africa and is an American. Some didn't think so because of her light complection.

 

What constitutes race? What constitutes sexual orientation? Should it be self defined? My only beef is that if "society" is going to offer scholarships, admittance to sport teams, etc. based on these things then their needs to be a definition of the terms.

[sailingpj]

Only in San Francisco would you have the problem of people not being gay enough to play softball.

[AT1988]

That was gay.