By now you’ve probably heard about the recent controversy involving the Tampa Bay Rays’ LGBTQ Pride uniforms. Last Saturday, June 4, the team wore a rainbow-striped version of its familiar “TB” cap logo and also added an adhesive rainbow sunburst logo as a sleeve patch. But unlike most cause- or message-driven uniforms (think camouflage for military appreciation, pink for breast cancer awareness, and so on), the Rays’ rainbow logos were not mandatory. At least five of the team’s players opted out of the promotion, electing to wear standard non-rainbow caps and to skip the adhesive sleeve patch.
Drew Rasmussen (left) and Brooks Raley both pitched for the Rays on June 4. Rasmussen wore the team’s rainbow-striped Pride logos on his cap and sleeve, while Raley did not. (Screen shots from MLB.TV)
The Rays are not the first MLB team to wear Pride-themed uniforms on the field (the Giants did it last season, and the Dodgers did it one night before the Rays did), but this uni trend is still fairly new, and it’ll be interesting to see how it’s affected by the Rays players who declined to wear the Pride logos.
