‘Absolute Joke’: Cards’ Jack Flaherty Blasts Rays Players Who Refused to Wear Pride Logos for Religious Reasons

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty blasted several Tampa Bay Rays players for refusing to wear the gay pride logo in Saturday’s game.

Flaherty steamed that the players’ decision was an “absolute joke,” as he criticized Rays Jason Adam, Jalen Beeks, Brooks Raley, Jeffrey Springs, and Ryan Thompson for refusing to wear the activist logo.

absolute joke https://t.co/LKzBZU77wf

— Jack Flaherty (@Jack9Flaherty) June 6, 2022

The Rays players explained their decision by saying that wearing the logo would violate their religious beliefs.

“It’s just what we believe the lifestyle he’s (Jesus) encouraged us to live for our good, not to withhold,” Reliever Jason Adam said. “But we love these men and women, we care about them and we want them to feel safe and welcome here.”

(Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash added that the players’ decision would not be a problem in the locker room because the team has had constructive discussions about the issue.

“It’s not judgmental. It’s not looking down. It’s just what we believe the lifestyle he’s encouraged us to live, for our good, not to withhold. But again, we love these men and women, we care about them, and we want them to feel safe and welcome here,” Adam added, according to the New York Post.

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