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Jilted Ballplayers Talk About Gay Softball Experience

Jilted Ballplayers Talk About Gay Softball Experience

Members of the Bay Area gay softball team disqualified for not having enough gay players on their team are speaking about their experience. Three members of the team, formerly called D2, are suing the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) for discrimination.

KPIX TV in San Francisco spoke with some of the players, who have since renamed their team the Hitmen. Their story appears here.

Last month the National Center for Lesbian Rights filed suit on behalf of the players in U.S. district court for the western district of Washington. The team says five players were grilled about their sexuality during the 2008 Gay Softball World Series in Seattle when a team they defeated accused them of having too many straight players. In the end, the men were found "nongay" and disqualified, despite insisting they were bisexual.

According to KPIX TV, "Under the rules of the gay softball league, no more than two straight members are allowed per team. But the question is, who's going to ask their sexuality when they sign up? It's illegal to ask someone's sexuality for the purpose of excluding them."

The NAGAAA published an open letter in late April defending its decision to disqualify the team. The organization likened itself to other groups that organize around a "commonality," such as race.

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