Big Papi would welcome gay teammates: “It’s the (expletive) 21st century man. Get over it.”

In an interview with Steve Buckley of the Boston Herald, 2013 World Series MVP David Ortiz spoke about gay athletes:

Ortiz said his mom Angela is responsible for teaching him acceptance, and spoke about one of his childhood friends, who, he said, “we all knew, when he was 13, that he was gay. And he was always talking to my mother, telling her everything. They were close. And it was my mother who taught me to love people for who they are. That’s what she told me.”

Photo courtesy of Keith Allison on Flickr. Posted under the Creative Commons license.

Ortiz continued:

“I have gay friends and we have great relationships when it comes down to respecting each other. It’s not something you choose to be. It’s not like, ‘I want to be a baseball player,’ or, ‘I want to be a basketball player.’ It’s something you’re born with and everybody needs to accept that. Hey, look, the way I see things, I love people the way they are. Especially if you are honest with yourself. You know what I’m saying? It’s the (expletive) 21st century man. Get over it.”

Read Buckley’s full article here.

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