Baseball Star Invokes Martin Luther King Jr. in Anti-Gay Political Ad

Major League Baseball outfielder Torii Hunter, a five-time All Star who played for the Detroit Tigers this year, invoked the name of Martin Luther King Jr. in a recent political advertisement against gay marriage.

Hunter, an Arkansas native, recorded a radio ad for Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, in which he said:

"Dr. King said that men should be judged by the content of their character. Today, we too often prejudge political candidates by their party label. I'm asking you to consider Asa for his actions.

"As a lawyer, Asa fought for more majority African-American districts in the state's legislature. Asa is committed to the principles we hold dear, like a strong faith in God, equal justice for all and keeping marriage between one man and one woman."

This is not the first time Hunter has declared his discomfort with homosexuality. While playing for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2012, Hunter told the Los Angeles Times that having a homosexual teammate would be a problem for him:

"For me, as a Christian...I will be uncomfortable because, in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it's not right, " said Hunter. "It will be difficult and uncomfortable."

To deflect public criticism over his remarks, Hunter later took to social media to lament that he had been misquoted:

"I'm very disappointed in Kevin Baxter's article in which my quotes and feelings have been misrepresented. He took two completely separate quotes and made them into one quote that does not express how I feel as a Christian or a human being. I have love and respect for all human beings regardless of race, color or sexual orientation. I am not perfect and try hard to live the best life I can and treat all people with respect. If you know me you know that I am not anti anything and to be portrayed as anti-gay in this article is hurtful and just not true."

Hunter’s new audio testimonial for Hutchinson also seems to fly in the face of recent history, in addition to once again drawing attention to his homophobia. As Deadspin points out, Hunter’s claim that Hutchinson "fought for more majority African-American districts in the state legislature" is also up for debate. Blogger Kevin Draper cites an article in the Arkansas Times that says Hutchinson actually worked to gerrymander districts in the state based on race:

"Asa Hutchinson, the Republican, who once engineered a black-packing congressional redistricting plan as Arkansas Republican chair to diminish the influence of black voters in all but one Delta district (he was in league with a Democratic black legislator who later went to prison)."

Hunter, who is arguably a future Hall of Famer, has also made disparaging remarks about dark-skinned Latino baseball players. In a 2010 interview with USA Today he referred to them as “imposters” while discussing the evolving demographics of professional baseball.

"People see dark faces out there, and the perception is that they're African American. They're not us. They're imposters," Hunter told reporter Bob Nightengale. He then continued to insult Latino players by saying, "As African-American players, we have a theory that baseball can go get an imitator and pass them off as us...It's like, 'Why should I get this kid from the South Side of Chicago and have Scott Boras represent him and pay him $5 million when you can get a Dominican guy for a bag of chips?'"

In July, Major League Baseball opened its arms to the LGBT community, hiring former utility outfielder Billy Bean, an openly gay former player, as the league’s “Ambassador of Inclusion.” Bean (not to be confused with Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, his former teammate) made his homosexuality public in 1999. He will work with major league and minor league clubs to encourage equal-opportunity workplaces and to develop educational training against sexism, homophobia and prejudice.

Hunter is a star nearing the end of long, sucessful career. He has played in Major League Baseball for 18 years, and was a team leader on the Minnesota Twins, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Detroit Tigers. For now, there is no word whether Major League Baseball will respond to Hunter’s remarks.

Listen to Hunter’s most recent remarks in this YouTube video:

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h/t: Deadspin, Detroit Free Press