Detroit Tigers’ right fielder Torii Hunter is making headlines for telling the Los Angeles Times he believes an openly gay teammate would make him “uncomfortable.”
“For me, as a Christian … I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right,” the former Los Angeles Angels outfielder told the Times. “It will be difficult and uncomfortable.”
The remarks come as part of a Times sports feature that examines why no active player in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL has ever come out as gay.
About 4,000 players spent time on active rosters in the NBA, NHL, NFL and Major League Baseball in 2012. With the best estimates of the gay/bisexual population in U.S. ranging from 2 percent to 10 percent, it’s likely many of those 4,000 athletes are gay or bisexual, according to the Times.
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