New York Mets second baseman Daniel
Murphy says he “disagrees 100%” with the gay “lifestyle.”
Murphy made his comments in the course
of discussing a recent Mets visit by Billy Bean, Major League
Baseball's ambassador for inclusion. Bean publicly announced he's
gay in 1999, roughly four years after he retired from the sport.
“I disagree with his lifestyle,”
Murphy said, NJ.com
reported.
“I do disagree with the fact that
Billy is a homosexual. That doesn't mean I can't still invest in him
and get to know him. I don't think the fact that someone is a
homosexual should completely shut the door on investing in them in a
relational aspect. Getting to know him. That, I would say, you can
still accept them but I do disagree with the lifestyle, 100 percent.”
“Maybe, as a Christian, that we
haven't been as articulate enough in describing what our actual
stance is on homosexuality,” he continued. “We love the people.
We disagree [with] the lifestyle. That's the way I would describe it
for me. It's the same way that there are aspects of my life that I'm
trying to surrender to Christ in my own life. There's a great deal
of many things, like my pride. I just think that as a believer
trying to articulate it in a way that says just because I disagree
with the lifestyle doesn't mean I'm just never going to speak to
Billy Bean every time he walks through the door. That's not love.
That's not love at all.”