I remember when I was sixteen I read a book called The Dreyfus Affair. It involves an all-star shortstop who is one of the biggest stars in baseball but he's got a crush on his second baseman who turns out be gay. (The title character refers to him as a lefty which is the kindest euphemism I've heard for the term.) They begin a secret affair but they are caught making out in a Neiman Marcus and the scandal rocks baseball. The National Pastime can't be seen having two superstars as gay. When the truth comes out, the Commissioner suspends both men as a distraction in 'the best interests of baseball', none unlike the Gentlemen's Agreement that excluded African-Americans. (The President actually congratulates the Commissioner and compares him to Kennesaw Mountain Landis who famously upheled that agreement when he was comissioner.)

The ending of the novel is both a measure of triumph and tragedy and I have to say is uncertain as to how it will work for either man. It was a bestseller during the 1990s and I think the time has come for a limited series adaptation. Given the immensely quality of LGBTQ+ themed limited series this year alone (four of the five nominees for Outstanding Actor played either gay or pan characters) I think this is something any cable or streaming could handle. Given all the controversy with so many gay male athletes I think we need this conversation to be put front and center and the onlyway to do is with fiction. And I think it has to be baseball because this game is symbolic of exclusion and inclusion, which is the story of America. It's been a trailblazer before; it can be again.