Update (7:51 PM EST): The Associated Press has some more quotes, including from Mets GM Sandy Alderson and Rockies GM Jeff Bridich.
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On Monday, the Associated Press reported that, as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, Major League Baseball has banned “offensive” hazing, referring to the tradition in which veteran baseball players make their rookie teammates dress up like women as a method of — they claim — “team bonding.”
We’ve covered the topic here many times before. In short, the practice is misogynistic, transphobic, and homophobic. Breaking down the humor of the ritual illuminates this fact. The point of making a male teammate dress up like a woman and/or wearing a pink backpack is to make him feminine. Femininity, compared to masculinity, is worse in their eyes; weaker. A lot of defenders of the tradition counter with, “It’s just making them different.” But when shown the myriad other ways they can make their teammate “different,” such as dressing up like a superhero, they reveal how singularly focused they are on humiliating rookies in this very specific way.
Unsurprisingly, some retired players are expressing their displeasure over the new anti-hazing rule.
There were a couple players who were happy about the new rule. Nationals pitcher Shawn Kelley:Hahaha this is ridiculous but I'm retired I don't have to abide by they're rules anymore. I'm the rookie in my new JOB!!!! https://t.co/HrPBI7dumB— LaTroy Hawkins (@LaTroyHawkins32) December 13, 2016
And former slugger Carlos Pena:
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