Red Sox to produce an "It Gets Better" anti-bullying video for gay youth

[meegbear]

The Boston Red Sox will produce an online video for the “It Gets Better Project,” an anti-bullying project aimed at helping gay youth.

The announcement that the team would be the third major league baseball team to participate in the campaign came today in response to a petition started by a 12-year-old New Hampshire boy that garnered nearly 10,000 signatures in a matter of days.

“The Red Sox organization takes the issue of bullying seriously,” the team said in a statement yesterday released by spokeswoman Leah Tobin. “It is something that has touched many of us and those we love, and it is a growing problem in our community. We are proud of dedicated Red Sox fans like 12-year-old Sam Maden who have taken the courageous step of publicly standing up against bullying of LGBT youth.”

The team didn't specify which players would participate, or what the video would say.

Sam Maden, of Nashua, started the petition late last month after his seventh-grade teacher asked the class to come up with a project that could make a difference in the world. After seeing a similar campaign succeed with the San Francisco Giants, Maden’s teacher helped him create a petition at Change.org, urging the Red Sox to produce an “It Gets Better” video.

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http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2011/06/red_sox_to_prod.html

[Ian David]

1. Legalizing Gay Marriage broke the Curse of the Bambino. n/t

[joeybee12]

2. Did marriage equality start in 2004 ? nt

[Ian David]

3. Yes. n/t

[joeybee12]

4. That explains it!!!

:toast:

[n2doc]

5. ESPN version:

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/columns/story?columnist=edes_gordon&id=6628965

BOSTON -- The Nashua (N.H.) North Angels went 13-2 in the Cal Ripken League this spring, and with the playoffs coming up, Sam Maden, their all-star shortstop and pitcher, was looking to get the attention of the Red Sox.

"Sweet Sammy" is what his mom, Tara, likes to shout out to him for encouragement when he is on the field, a great baseball nickname but one that tends to embarrass her 12-year-old son. You know, moms and all that.

Sam, as you might imagine, is a big Sox fan. He went to Fenway to see a game for the first time three years ago, when he was 9, and as luck would have it, he was randomly chosen to be the kid to go down onto the field before the game and yell, "Play ball.'' The Sox came up big for him that day in the game. "J.D. Drew and Mike Lowell both hit grand slams,'' he said.

Now, Sam was hoping the Sox would come through for him again, but this time, he was shooting for something more than memories. He wanted the team to take a stand, just like the one he took, against bullying, especially against members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.