The Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday
became the fifth MLB team to support the It Gets Better Project.
In their one-minute-twenty-five-second
video, relief pitchers Jason Berken, Michael Gonzales and Kevin
Gregg, pitcher Zach Britton, and starting pitcher Jake Arrieta reach
out to troubled LGBT teens considering suicide. (The video is
embedded in the right panel of this page.)
“The Orioles are proud to support the
It Gets Better Project and the Trevor Project,” said Greg Bader,
the team's director of communications. “Bullying of any kind, for
any reason, is unacceptable to our organization, and we are pleased
to have our players speak out against this behavior in the hope it
will provide encouragement to LGBT youth, and all children, who are
facing hatred and prejudice.”
The
It Gets Better Project encourages gay teens to not cave in to
bullies, because life eventually gets better. The video campaign is
helmed by gay activist and Seattle alternative The Stranger
editor Dan Savage.
MLB teams that have recorded a video or
have announced plans to do so include the Seattle Mariners, the
Boston Red Sox, the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago Cubs.