Hazing comes in all different forms. Pledges in fraternities are sometimes forced to drink large consumptions of alcohol or wear little clothing around a college campus during the week. When former San Diego Padres outfielder Jeff Francoeur joined the roster of the minor league El Paso Chihuahuas minor league baseball team last month, his teammates and coaches pretended that Chihuahuas pitcher Jorge Reyes was deaf.
https://twitter.com/FrancoeurDaily/status/457208395733291009
While the team finds this prank to be hilarious and CBS Sports used the word “amazing”, the principle behind this joke is not funny at all. “He’s overcome a lot,” Francoeur says of his teammate. “Being a deaf baseball player is very tough in this game, and seeing the way he’s done it and handled himself has been awesome.”
Francoeur had a successful major league career with a Golden Glove Award in 2007 and making the cover of Sports Illustrated, so why he is being called an idiot? Many deaf individuals aren’t fortunate enough to work with people who make the effort to learn about the experiences they go through on a daily basis. To say Francoeur was being kind to his teammate is horrible.
This is not just occurring in baseball. Seattle Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman now has a Super Bowl ring, but he still has to deal with condescending questions from reporters about how he overcomes his deafness. Being deaf or any other disability is not an obstacle. It shouldn’t be used for humor and taken more seriously in the locker room and from the press.
joshpbond 