The San Francisco Gay Softball League has distanced itself from a lawsuit against the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Association filed last month. The suit, filed by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, contends that the national association discriminated against players by implementing and enforcing a “two heterosexuals per team” cap during the 2008 Gay Softball World Series. The players whose sexuality was challenged were a part of the team D2, based in San Francisco.
“The lawsuit involving the three players of the former D2 team is between them and NAGAAA,” SFGSL commissioner Vincent Fuqua said in a letter. “This is not an action that SFGSL is part of. However, members of the SFGSL Board may be called as witnesses and both parties have asked us not to comment on specifics of the incident.”
NCLR clients Steven Apilado, LaRon Charles and Jon Russ were part of the roster during the championship game. During that game, however, D2 learned that another team challenged the players’ eligibility to play based on the rule that each team can not have any more than two straight players.
Five D2 players were summoned to a conference room for a protest hearing where they were asked whether they were “predominantly attracted to men” or “predominantly attracted to women.” After each player was questioned, a panel voted on whether they were “gay” or “non-gay.”
The lawsuit contends that the association refused to consider “bisexual” as an appropriate answer and NAGAAA’s panel found that Charles, Russ and Apilado were not gay. The decision forced D2 to retroactively forfeit its second-place World Series win.
Fuqua elaborated on the bylaws of SFGSL, and said that his league “welcomes all members of our community to join our league regardless of age, color, sex, gender identification or sexual orientation. SFGSL does not limit participation based on any of the above.”
He added that SFGSL is associated with NAGAAA primarily for the purpose of the Gay Softball World Series and that the national organization has no authority over how the local league is operated.
