Young Male Yankee Fans and Homophobia

I haven’t made a Horse’s Patoot Salute for awhile so here is my latest nominee –Homophobic Yankee Fans. Here’s why –

The Village People’s song, YMCA, has become a traditional crowd diversion at many sports events. At some point during the game, everyone stands up and sings along with the Village People over the loud speakers. We all know the arm motions, right? Y-M-C-A! It’s fun and, of course, a little ironic to be singing a song parody by gay men parodying gay male icons at the most masculine of manly events: a professional men’s sports event.

I introduce this section by confessing that I am a Boston Red Sox fan and it follows that the Yankees are not my favorite team. However, it seems that, for a number of years, some male Yankee fans have taken the fun out of singing YMCA and turned it into an ugly display of homophobia.

When YMCA is played, large groups of male Yankee fans scan the seats for men wearing caps or tee shirts from the other team or anyone in Red Sox garb. They all point at their target and sing YMCA at that person or persons. The problem is that they have changed the words to the song. I’ll give you a little sample, their version starts out, “Why are you gay? I saw you sucking D-I-C-K.” It degenerates from there to "clever" new lyrics about disease and sin. All sung with drunken, adolescent leers and plastic beer cup schloshing.

Given the recent outrageous number of young gay men killing themselves after being bullied by classmates, the gang sodomizing of three gay men with sticks by upwards of 10 young men in NYC this past weekend and gubernatorial candidate, Carl Paladino’s public anti-gay comments, the insensitivity of the Yankee YMCA perversion is especially outrageous. No one ever said the combination of testosterone, alcohol and a male professional sports event was a recipe for respectful behavior, but this is really disgusting.

Sean Chapin who I have never met, but is one of my Facebook friends, has made a powerful video in response to the Yankee fans homophobic display.



What do you think is the responsibility of the professional teams and their stadium security staff here? Especially when this news follows the report last week of a lesbian couple asked to leave a Baltimore Ravens game because they kissed each other while waiting in line for an order of French fries.

Definitely a two steps back few weeks.