Indians pitcher: Gay porn video was mistake

MSNBC / AP ^ | January 27, 2004 | Associated Press

[Alberta's Child]

Tadano asks for forgiveness, expects abuse from fans . . .

Indians minor leaguer Kazuhito Tadano is asking for forgiveness for what he called a one-time mistake — his appearance in a gay porn video in which he engaged in a homosexual act.

Tadano took part in the video three years ago when he was a college student. Sitting in the Cleveland clubhouse Tuesday, the pitcher said he hoped to put his actions in the past . . .

[Alberta's Child]

You can't make this sh!t up.

[goldstategop]

I forgive him. Unless more turns up, he shouldn't be judged for what he did when he was a college lad...

[VaBthang4]

???

[doug from upland]

I hope the Indians have a player with the last name of Chance and Tadano has a save opportunity that he messes up. The headline: Tribe Loses, Tadano Blows Chance

[Alberta's Child]

I don't think you need to "forgive" him -- it's not as if he has wronged you in any way.

At least we know he's a "pitcher," eh?

[cyborg]

Give me a barf bag. This is news? Baseball players have done WORSE. I don't suppose we'll hear cries of sorrow from all the Girls Gone Wild lesbo cameos of chicks.

[dfwgator]

Did he pitch or catch?

[goldstategop]

Nah. I have a weakness for hard luck cases. I could care less who he did it with in a video ages ago. It was consensual adult sex and besides it shouldn't be a disqualification in era when gays and lesbians are a part of mainstream society.

[Alberta's Child]

LOL!!!

[Alberta's Child]

According to the article, he is most definitely a pitcher. But it's possible he was playing a different position back then.

[ambrose]

I agree.. he has nothing to be sorry for.. not to me at least... He needs to forgive himself and stop hanging this over his head and just play baseball. I don't want to hear about his sex life anymore.

[Screaming_Gerbil]

...Tadano took part in the video three years ago when he was a college student...

...Shunned by Japanese baseball teams, the 23-year-old Tadano signed with the Indians last March...

...Tadano gave few details about the video, which he made after his sophomore year at Rikkyo University....

...I was young, playing baseball, and going to college and my teammates and I needed money...

...Through an interpreter, Tadano added: "I’m not gay. I’d like to clear that fact up right now."...

...Tadano knows he may face fan abuse in major league parks such as Yankee Stadium, where heckling the visitors is part of the pageantry...

..."I don’t understand English, so it doesn’t really matter," he said.

[Major_Risktaker]

Kazuhito Tadano never got a second chance in Japan, where the pitcher was shunned by pro baseball teams after he appeared in a gay pornographic video.

The commissioner of Japanese baseball
came out and said, "You will not draft Tadano"

__________________

Save the kids. I say no way he should play!

[mikegi]

Through an interpreter, Tadano added: “I’m not gay. I’d like to clear that fact up right now.”

Uhhh, yeah right, whatever you say.

Outfielder Grady Sizemore said ... a top prospect who lived with Tadano this winter ... "He’s a great guy and a great pitcher".

FYI: Grady Sizemore also plays in the NFL. For the 2004 season, he's been moved from tight end to wide receiver.

[Charles Henrickson]

I hope the Indians have a player with the last name of Chance. . . .

He did play for the Indians in 1970.

[this_ol_patriot]

Did he pitch or catch?

Neither, he was the batboy.

[JerseyHighlander]

"I don’t understand English, so it doesn’t really matter," he said

His only grace....but

The Yankee bleacher bums are going to learn Japanese, just so they can howl invectives at him...

I can't find anything else to say that won't get me banned...

[Fledermaus]

So in the video, did he pitch or catch?

[dfwgator]

Tadano added: “I’m not gay."

But his boyfriend is.

[Jaysun]

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jaysun]

Tadano added: “I’m not gay."

I thought that having homosexual sex is what distinguishes someone as being gay????? Maybe he's trying to take on the trendier "bisexual" label?

[realpatriot71]

What's the big deal?! Didn't everyone act in gay porn while attending college . . . huh?

Oh . . . never mind . . . *ahem*

How about them Panthers, eh?

[fat city]

Life In Cleveland # 3,623

[freebilly]

The commissioner of Japanese baseball came out and said, "You will not draft Tadano"

So, in effect, the commissioner said "Screw Tadano."?

[kingu]

I only let the kid watch auto racing. For some odd reason, they rarely have scandals, and usually when they do, they're so mild that most people wonder how this became such an issue.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Indians minor-leaguer apologizes for gay porn video
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/0104/28porn.html#
Associated Press Kazuhito Tadano


Cleveland -- Indians minor leaguer Kazuhito Tadano is asking for forgiveness for what he called a one-time mistake -- his appearance in a gay porn video in which he engaged in a homosexual act.

Tadano took part in the video three years ago when he was a college student. Sitting in the Cleveland clubhouse Tuesday, the pitcher said he hoped to put his actions in the past.


"All of us have made mistakes in our lives," Tadano said, reading a statement in English. "Hopefully, you learn from them and move on."




Shunned by Japanese baseball teams, the 23-year-old Tadano signed with the Indians last March. They think he can make their club this spring.

Tadano gave few details about the video, which he made after his sophomore year at Rikkyo University.

"I did participate in a video and I regret it very much," he said. "It was a one-time incident that showed bad judgment and will never be repeated. I was young, playing baseball, and going to college and my teammates and I needed money.

"Frankly, if I were more mature and had really thought about the implications of what I did, it never would have happened."

Through an interpreter, Tadano added: "I'm not gay. I'd like to clear that fact up right now."

The Indians set up the press session after getting many requests from reporters to speak with Tadano. The team wanted to address the issue before spring training starts next month.

Tadano's admission will certainly draw attention to homosexuality in baseball, a sensitive issue that most players prefer to not even discuss.

In 2002, All-Star catcher Mike Piazza felt the need to hold a press conference to profess his heterosexuality after a newspaper gossip columnist suggested that one of the New York Mets' top players was gay.

There are no openly gay players in the big leagues today. The same is true in the NFL, NHL and NBA.

Tadano was one of Japan's top college pitchers and expected to be a high first-round pick in 2002. But after a Japanese tabloid published photos of him in the video a month before the draft, pro teams in Japan did not select him.

"The commissioner of Japanese baseball came out and said, 'You will not draft Tadano,"' asserted the pitcher's agent, Alan Nero. "But this kid didn't assault anybody. He didn't commit murder. If anything, he is guilty of being naive."

Twice in the minor leagues last season, Tadano stood before his teammates and confessed to his participation in the video, which Nero said can only be obtained on the black market in Japan.

Tadano received overwhelming support from players at Kinston, N.C., where he started the season and later at Akron, the Indians' Double-A affiliate.

"I wanted to tell the truth to my teammates," he said.

A former starter, he pitched in all three levels of the minors last season, going 6-2 with a 1.55 ERA and three saves. At Akron, he didn't allow a run in his first 28 innings and struck out 78 in 72 2-3 innings.

Outfielder Grady Sizemore said Tadano's speech last year was well received in the clubhouse.

"You could tell he was nervous," said Sizemore, a top prospect who lived with Tadano this winter. "But I don't think it changed anybody's opinion of him. After it was said and done, nobody thought anything more of it. He's a great guy and a great pitcher."

If he pitches well during spring training, Tadano could win a spot in Cleveland's bullpen. Whenever he joins the Indians, pitcher C.C. Sabathia says Tadano will be welcomed.

"This is the right team and the right organization for him," Sabathia said. "We have good guys here. Everybody has done something that they regret in their lives. He's a person just like everyone else."

Tadano tried out for several major league teams last spring in Arizona. Coming off an elbow injury, he didn't get any offers. Nero said some teams were turned off by what he called "the scandal."

"He didn't pitch well enough for them to ignore it," Nero said. "I also think they were afraid of the baggage that would come with it."

Not the Indians. They liked Tadano enough to invite him to work out at their spring training facility in Winter Haven, Fla. Eventually, they signed him to a minor league contract that included a $67,500 bonus.

General manager Mark Shapiro said the team decided to sign Tadano despite knowing there could be backlash.

"We thought the upside was well worth the risk, energy and time to support him," Shapiro said.

Tadano knows he may face fan abuse in major league parks such as Yankee Stadium, where heckling the visitors is part of the pageantry.

He joked that he's ready for it.

"I don't understand English, so it doesn't really matter," he said.

[IrishRainy]

Er, they're NOT part of the mainstream. They WANT to be so they're working on it, unfortunately.

[Lancey Howard]

LOL!!!

[Lancey Howard]

"Hey, Tadano - - You suck!" will take on a whole new meaning.

In all seriousness, this guy will never appear on a Major League ballfield.
Never.

[Prodigal Son]

It doesn't bother me. It's not my decision anyway. The Indians can hire who they want. I suppose the only bottom line that matters will be his ERA and Saves.

[In_25_words_or_less]

Good thing he didn't bet on a game. That would have been serious!

[Jimbaugh]

Anybody want to shower with this guy ?

[Callahan]

Not so. The sports media is incredibly PC and is dying for a "gay Jackie Robinson." This guy will become a hero. Expect to see a nice, big article in Sports Illustratd next week. Them Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser will argue about who is more open-minded and accepting of gay porn on their ESPN show. Tadano will be signed and HBO will make a movie about his movie.

I'm still laughing because I saw the headline and somehow didn't expect the guy to be Japanese.

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

I heard that he wants to put all this gay stuff behind him now.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

You're right about the sports media (like all media). However, Tadano's statement that, "I'm not gay" will alienate him from the PC police.

[bmwcyle]

What was his first clue?

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

The courage of this pickle smoocher will be the ESPcN sports headline for the next week. Gag me.

[Johnny_Cipher]

Indians minor leaguer Kazuhito Tadano is asking for forgiveness for what he called a one-time mistake — his appearance in a gay porn video in which he engaged in a homosexual act.

There's his problem right there - he's playing for the wrong team.

[metesky]

You jaywalk one time and nobody calls you a jaywalker for the rest of your life...

You rob a bank one time and nobody calls you a bank robber for the rest of your life...

But _____ one ____ and everybody calls ya a _________ forever!

[12B]

Did he pitch or catch?

LOL Can't wait to see this guy during the "Sausage Race"

[hchutch]

I have a partial season ticket plan with the Potomac Cannons and saw him pitch last year. He dominated the Cannons. Three innings that went 1-2-3.

Until proven otherwise, I think we ought to take him at his word on this matter. Wish the Brewers would have him in their bullpen this year.

[Prodigal Son]

LOL.

[Chances Are]

The best pitcher I ever saw was Sandy Koufax, but Dean Chance had to be #1-A. He had incredible control.

Boy, all this was some years ago, wasn't it?

CA....

[Dante3]

I wouldn't call it a mistake, but instead a deliberate act which he now regrets because it became public and will hurt him financially.

[Area51]

Anybody want to shower with this guy ?

33 posted on 01/28/2004 5:26:48 AM PST by Jimbaugh (They will not get away with this. Developing . . . . .)
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I bet he can't wait to get into the rotation!

[Flightdeck]

""I’m not gay. I’d like to clear that fact up right now."...

Really, I'm not. It's just that I have a craving for penis sometimes."

[doug from upland]

Yes, I remember Dean. Also ---

Tinker to Evers to Chance

Chicago Cubs double play combination from 1903-10; immortalized in poem by New York sportswriter Franklin P. Adams— SS Joe Tinker (1880-1948), 2B Johnny Evers (1883-1947) and 1B Frank Chance (1877-1924); all 3 managed the Cubs and made the Hall of Fame.

[TexasCajun]

Is Kazuhito Tadano a Pitcher or is he the Catcher??

[Area51]

I have a partial season ticket plan with the Potomac Cannons and saw him pitch last year. He dominated the Cannons. Three innings that went 1-2-3...


42 posted on 01/28/2004 6:49:28 AM PST by hchutch (Why did the Nazgul run from Arwen's flash flood? All they managed to do was to end up dying tired.)
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And the Headline will read, "Gay porn star blows away the competition."

Or "Switch Hitter, goes after the guys with the big sticks."