TORONTO – The more you parse the words, the harder it is to reconcile the contradictions in Anthony Bass’ most expansive comments to date about sharing a social media video supporting anti-2SLGBTQ+ boycotts of Target and Bud Light. How can one be both accepting and welcoming of all, but also entitled to personal beliefs that may very well be exclusionary of some? How can one mean no group any harm, while justifying the sharing of a video which does exactly that because it aligns with Christian values? How can opposite things be true at the same time?
These are important questions that matter well beyond Bass, baseball and the Toronto Blue Jays, who employ the right-handed reliever and are trying to message-manage their way through all of this ahead of their Pride Weekend festivities Friday and Saturday.
Trans rights have become a polarizing and sadly potent wedge issue in American politics ahead of the 2024 election. As the rhetoric flies and social media algorithms continually serve up your discourse of choice, the end goal becomes winning the argument rather than finding common ground, which is incredibly detrimental to maintaining a functional society, let alone protecting its most vulnerable members.
Bigger picture then, that’s the swamp and Bass is a mosquito. Generally, the sensible approach is to drain the former to eliminate the latter, but in countering intolerance, there are smaller victories to be found in going bug to bug, progressively reducing the vectoring of hate.
After all, undoing years of built-up biases toward convenient-to-attack labels is incredibly hard; somewhat easier is acknowledging another human being, different as a person may be, and settling for a little bit of live and let live, if not full-on tolerance.
“It is progress acknowledging that you have your own beliefs, but that beliefs should not deny someone else what they believe in or what they choose to do,” said Sherwin Modeste, the executive director of Pride Toronto, who on Tuesday met with Bass. “And that's what I got from him.”
Rather than going into their conversation intent on transforming all of Bass’s viewpoints, Modeste’s goal during the conversation in a Rogers Centre office was to establish “respect for the community and not being part of spreading any form of hate.”
“What I heard from Anthony's mouth is that he acknowledged that his reposting was inappropriate, realizing that this has caused damage to the community, it was disrespectful,” said Modeste. “He has a religious belief. He has a teaching that if a man lies with a man as one might with a woman that blood should be upon them, that's what the Bible says. Our goal should not be to change Anthony, but working with Anthony to respect human beings and understand the pain that (their actions) can cause.”
Through that lens, the contradictions within Bass’s public comments are a little more reconcilable.
Expecting Bass to suddenly abandon all the motivations that led him to like and share a post citing Bible verse to justify boycotting Target because it carried Pride-themed apparel is probably unrealistic.
Bias can’t simply be finger-snapped away.
But as long as the 35-year-old is genuine about “being accepting, welcoming and making people feel comfortable to make a decision in their lives,” calling it something “I need to be better at,” well, that’s better than him staying solely within an anti-2SLGBTQ+ bubble.
Ultimately, though, it’s only better if that’s a beginning, not an end.
Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins, the first club executive to take media questions on the matter, a week and a half after the repost first appeared, called the meeting with Modeste “just a first step” and insisted that Bass being apologetic and accountable “was absolutely necessary for us to be together.”
The same should hold true if Bass veers off course, and doesn’t follow through beyond the initial discussion with Modeste.
Next up will be Bass catching the ceremonial first pitch Friday, a request he made to Modeste that the executive director discussed and gained approval for. leZlie Lee Kam, a long-time community activist, is slated to handle the first-pitch duties that night, the club announced Wednesday.
From there, Modeste and Bass discussed spending time together in the community once Pride Month ends, perhaps “with some Queer seniors, some Queer families,” or maybe “flipping some burgers for some homeless Queer youth,” said Modeste.
“This is not something that you have a conversation with the executive director of Pride Toronto and all good,” Modeste added. “It's an ongoing conversation and this is something that we agreed to.”
Bass was a bit less definitive, saying “if something comes up down the road, I’m definitely open to it,” so he’ll need to be held to account on that front, among others.
He’ll also face the consequences of his actions this weekend and he’ll have earned whatever reaction he gets from fans in attendance. But Modeste has opened a path for Bass to try and make real amends and in the process, perhaps opened his mind just a little bit, too.
