Five San Francisco Giants – pitchers
Matt Cain, Barry Zito and Sergio Romo, centerfielders Andres Torres,
and batting coach Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens – are featured in
an It Gets Better video that reaches out to troubled gay teens.
Standing in the Giants' ballpark, Zito
kicks off the 58-second video.
“We all know how difficult life can
be for a teenager,” Zito says. “We've all been there and had to
deal with the pressure to fit in and be accepted by our peers,”
Romo continues. “It's particularly challenging for LGBT teens who
face adversity and intolerance in their daily lives,” Cain adds.
(The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
The
It Gets Better Project begun by gay activist Dan Savage has
received enormous support from Hollywood, the business community and
leading Democrats, including President Barack Obama. The campaign
encourages gay teens to not cave in to bullies, because life
eventually gets better.
The Giants announced last month that
they would participate in the campaign, making the organization the
first professional sports team to do so.