An openly bisexual high school baseball player in upstate New York alleges that he was the target of a hateful gay slur during a recent game, setting off an investigation at one school and leaving hurt feelings at another.
As reported by the Times Herald-Record and the LGBTQ sports blog Outsports, Rondout Valley High School (Kenhonkson, N.Y.) baseball player Sam Culwell was the target of a slur from the opposite dugout during a recent game against Marlboro (N.Y.) High School. The player recounted the tribulation in a Facebook post where he expressed being, “disappointed, disgusted and hurt,” by what transported on the Marboro baseball fields.
The Marlboro Central School District has since launched an investigation into precisely what was said during the incident in question. Meanwhile, at least two Marlboro witnesses claim that the phrase actually directed at Culwell was, “Tell him he’s a failure and fat.”
That may seem unlikely, and the investigation into the comments is unlikely to be resolved before the teams face off again on Wednesday.
As one might expect, that Wednesday game now has added focus and attention, though Culwell insists he hopes the Rondout Valley fans are more gracious at their home opener, and that both teams can wrap with a more traditional postgame capper.
“I will shake their hands,” Culwell told the Times Herald-Record.
