What's next for Kevin Pillar? Becoming a role model, says MLB's Billy Bean
Major League Baseball vice president Billy Bean, a former player who came out as gay in 1999 after his career had concluded, said he hopes Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Kevin Pillar’s usage of homophobic language can be a lesson for Pillar himself, the league and the sports world.
The Blue Jays suspended Pillar two games Thursday for using an anti-gay slur toward Atlanta Braves pitcher Jason Motte during Wednesday night’s game. Pillar issued an apology Thursday for using “inappropriate language” and helping to “extend the use of a word that has no place in baseball, in sports or anywhere in society today.”
“This is not who I am and I will use this as an opportunity to better myself,” he said.
The Blue Jays, MLB and Pillar are determining organizations to which Pillar's two games worth of salary will be donated.
Part of Pillar bettering himself, Bean said, will entail engagement work with PFLAG, the country’s largest organization for allies united with members of the LGBTQ community.
“I think that will be very beneficial for him,” Bean said. “Once there’s a willingness to be (engaged), that’s 95% of the battle. When you’re able to grow and learn off the field, just as you do on the field, it can make you a much better citizen. Him understanding, just a little bit, goes a long way.
“I’m hopeful that Kevin will feel like he understands better after everything, and have in the back of his mind how much words matter moving forward as he plays in front of millions of people. It can help him become a role model.”
Bean had not spoken to Pillar directly but met with several MLB officials Thursday while the Blue Jays, MLB and the players' association addressed the issue. He understands that Pillar’s slur was not premeditated or malicious, but said him using it illustrates “how embedded this language and dialogue is in a moment of anger.”
“As a former player, I understand things get heated, but we just have to be better,” said Bean, who starting working with MLB in 2014 as the ambassador for inclusion. “Kevin has a great career in front of him, he’s a popular player, and so everything he says and does in response to this is very important. He has a social responsibility now.”
Bean said that similar to when retired NBA legend Kobe Bryant used a gay slur in 2011 and was suspended by the NBA, he believes Pillar can turn a negative into a positive with the exposure of the incident.
“Kobe was a global figure and when he changed his ways, then stood up for the (LGBT) community, it went a long way,” Bean said. “Kevin (Pillar) is just another example of someone who can lead by example and not just be sorry for his actions, but be a champion for inclusion in response.”
Bean said compared to when he played, when homophobic slurs were regularly used, today’s game cannot allow any forms of discrimination. He’s proud of his MLB colleagues and the Blue Jays, who he described as an “incredibly progressive organization” that “doesn’t want anti-gay rhetoric to represent what they stand for.”
“We definitely had some substantive conversations with all parties here,” Bean said. “We were all on the same page that that (homophobic) behavior is unacceptable, and that this is important to address.”