I received an interesting E-mail from Darren Viola today.

Hey David.. Maybe you can come across the Todd Jones article (being somewhat of a loose cannon, I can only imagine what Jones wrote about ) that the Rockies have seemingly squashed in the Denver Post. I was trying to post it over here at Baseball Primer.

Here is the Rockie Press Release retraction.

http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/col/news/col_press_release.jsp?ymd=20030428&content_id=294326&vkey=pr_col&fext=.jsp

The unfortunate comments made by pitcher Todd Jones and published in today's Denver Post in no way reflect the views, opinions, or attitudes of the Colorado Rockies Baseball Club.
"As an organization and as a part of this community, we are committed to providing an environment for our employees and fans that is free of discrimination and prejudice regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national orientation, age, disability, or status as a veteran" said Keli McGregor, Rockies team president.

The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing a work environment that is free from unlawful discrimination.

So what did Todd Jones say? I looked at the Denver Post sports page, and like Mr. Viola, couldn't find an article. So I did a search of Google News with the query "Todd Jones Denver Post" and found an article in the theater section titled "Broadway portrayal of homosexual ballplayer runs counter to reality".

In the few first seconds of the most controversial new play on Broadway, a young, handsome and cocky major-league baseball superstar casually and unashamedly mentions to the media and his teammates that he is gay. His talents are so god-like, his life to date so charmed and insulated from hatred, it never occurs to him to care what anyone else might think about that.

Colorado Rockies pitcher Todd Jones, a 6-foot, 3-inch pitcher from Marietta, Ga., said an openly gay player would create a hostile locker-room environment, and that opposing pitchers would likely throw intentionally at his head.

"I wouldn't want a gay guy being around me," Jones said. "It's got nothing to do with me being scared. That's the problem: All these people say he's got all these rights. Yeah, he's got rights or whatever, but he shouldn't walk around proud. It's like he's rubbing it in our face. 'See me, hear me roar.' We're not trying to be close-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don't really have to be?"

That kind of attitude "speaks volumes about America," said actor Daniel Sunjata, a Jeter lookalike who plays Lemming in "Take Me Out." "Sports are the last bastion of sanctioned homophobia in this country. The fact that something like sexual preference can so adversely affect your career and your income is depressing. If I were a pro baseball player, and I was gay, I might not come out, either, for those exact reasons."

Update: There was a typo in the press release, and sexual orientation should have been included. The link to the press release brings you to the corrected version, and this post also prints the corrected paragraph.