Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz and catcher Eddie Perez reportedly made anti-gay comments last week during interviews with the Associated Press, including Smoltz comparing same-sex marriage to legalizing bestiality.

The AP article, published July 3, examined homophobia in professional sports and the prospects of a gay player coming out in baseball, basketball, football or hockey.

But Smoltz spoke specifically about the most dominant social issue in the gay rights movement, marriage equality, sparking one local activist to demand an apology.

“Smoltz, a devout Christian, criticized those who want to legalize gay marriage,” the AP reported. “‘What’s next? Marrying an animal?’ he asked derisively.”

Kris Pierce, who is leading the fight against a proposed state constitutional ban on gay marriage to be decided by Georgia voters in November, called Perez and Smoltz’s comments “nothing new.”

“Unfortunately major league sports haven’t come around to mainstream thinking,” Pierce said, adding that the players’ comments were induced by “testosterone and unfounded fear.”

Pierce, who is heterosexual, said he was personally offended by Smoltz’s remarks and demanded that the Cy Young Award-winning pitcher and perennial Hall of Famer publicly apologize.

“To say that we are akin to animals is a slap in the face to the GLBT community,” said Pierce, Georgia Equality’s campaign manager on the amendment. “I think he owes the GLBT community an apology, and I have no problem saying that I expect one from him.”

But Brad Hainje, media relations director for the Braves, said he has talked to the players about the AP article and both said the quotes attributed to them don’t reflect their views on homosexuality.

“Eddie [Perez] told me that those quotes that were attributed to him were inaccurate,” Hainje said. “[Smoltz also] said the article did not accurately reflect his views on the topic.”

Jack Stokes, director of media relations for AP, said no one from the Braves has contacted the news service requesting a clarification or correction surrounding the players’ comments.

Hainje said he believed Smoltz was working with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on an article that would clarify his position. Smoltz would not give interviews to other media outlets on the issue, Hainje said.

Hainje attempted to arrange an interview between Southern Voice and Perez, but one could not be conducted by press time.

Comments attributed to the two Braves players don’t represent the views of the organization, Hainje said.

“They were speaking from their personal point of view,” he said.

Rocker redux?
Smoltz and Perez aren’t the first Braves players to stir controversy with public comments deriding gay people.

Former Braves relief pitcher John Rocker caused a national stir in 1999 by ridiculing a host of minority groups when describing to a Sports Illustrated reporter why he would not want to play for a New York-based team.

“Imagine having to take the No. 7 train to the ballpark, looking like you’re [riding] through Beirut, next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids,” Rocker said.

Local gay rights activists mounted significant protests. Rocker was ordered by Major League Baseball to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and was briefly suspended by the league before being traded from the Braves in June 2001.

The new comments by Perez and Smoltz indicate that the Braves organization has done little to combat homophobia among its players, according to Donna Lopiano, CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation, which helped create the Homophobia in Sports Project.

“I think the male locker room has had a reputation of being homophobic and lacking tolerance in many respects,” Lopiano said. “And few sports organizations have taken on the challenge of making these rooms better.”

Hainje said he was unaware of any sensitivity or diversity training offered by the Braves for players.

In addition to Smoltz’s comments against gay marriage, he predicted that it was only a matter of time before an openly gay player is among the MLB ranks. Despite his religious beliefs, Smoltz was reported to say he wouldn’t have a problem having a gay teammate “unless it compromised the team.”

In his comments to the AP, Perez also said he wouldn’t mind having a gay teammate, so long as he knew the player’s sexual orientation up front.

Braves pitcher John Smoltz criticized the battle to legalize gay marriage in a recent interview with the Associated Press. ‘What’s next, marrying an animal?” he reportedly said. (Photo by Duane Burleson/AP)

“If I knew a guy was gay, then I could work it out. I could be prepared,” Perez said, according to AP. “I could hide when I’m getting disrobed. It would be hard to play with someone all year and then find out they’re gay.”

Perez’s comments mirror those of countless other professional athletes who fear a gay athlete would take sexual delight in seeing his teammates nude in the locker room, Lopiano said.

Such feelings are caused by “a fear of homosexuality based on myth and a lack of understanding,” she said.

Smoltz’s image tarnished?
It isn’t surprising that a professional athlete would talk about gay marriage since the entire nation is in the midst of a debate on the issue, but someone of Smoltz’ stature should discuss it in a “constructive manner,” Pierce said.

Jim Buzinski, co-founder of Outsports.com, a Web site for gay sports fans, called Smoltz’s comments “incredibly offensive.” But the Braves shouldn’t punish the pitcher for expressing his views on a political issue, he said.

“As stupid as I think [the comments] may be, he’s entitled to say it,” Buzinski said.

It may be gay fans who punish Smoltz, according to Gary Sisney, owner of Woof’s, a gay sports bar in Atlanta.

“Everyone is entitled to their own viewpoint, but it just doesn’t sit well for him to say those things,” Sisney said. “I really am surprised because those words coming from a high-profile player like Smoltz, it’s a turnoff.”

Hainje said he doesn’t believe the Braves will suffer a backlash from fans angry about the comments.

“I think fans understand that these were players making comments on their own, and that that wasn’t the organization speaking,” he said.

But Smoltz’s positive image throughout the league — he was recently named a “Good Guy” by Sporting News magazine for his philanthropic efforts — may be damaged by his statements, Pierce said.

“It hurts him. We rely on our athletes to be role models,” Pierce said. “Do we want a role model who, for some reason, fears or hates a segment of our society? To me, it shows the ignorance that is out there.”

Ryan Lee can be reached at rlee@sovo.com