FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Sports

Organist Trolls Daniel Murphy with Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" for Homophobic Comments

Daniel Murphy has a history of homophobic remarks which resurfaced after his trade to the Chicago Cubs and the notorious Atlanta Braves organist let him have it during his walk-up songs last night.
Screen capture via Twitter/@bravesorganist

The Atlanta Braves organist Matthew Kaminski has developed a reputation as a certifiable badass, with a penchant for puns. The man has been taking requests via Twitter for how best to troll various players, but it's fair to say that he knocked it out of the park with his set list for controversial Cubs trade acquisition Daniel Murphy.

The Organist put together a set list featuring inclusionary anthems like Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," "What the World Needs Now is Love," and "Lola" to be played while Murphy, who is a "Hate the sin, love the sinner" kind of guy, walked to the plate for each at-bat.

Advertisement

Murphy has a history of homophobic remarks going back to 2015, when he spoke out against the gay "lifestyle" when former ballplayer Billy Bean became an inclusion ambassador for Major League Baseball and visited Murphy's then-team the Mets. Bean, who came out as gay in 1999 after a six-year career, was at the Mets' spring training camp to spread awareness of sexuality in sports, and to help build acceptance. To which Murphy responded, per NJ.com:

"I disagree with his lifestyle," Murphy said. "I do disagree with the fact that Billy is a homosexual. That doesn't mean I can't still invest in him and get to know him. I don't think the fact that someone is a homosexual should completely shut the door on investing in them in a relational aspect. Getting to know him. That, I would say, you can still accept them but I do disagree with the lifestyle, 100 percent."

This is the exact kind of shit Bean was on hand to teach against, and the exact reason why he did not come out until after his playing career ended. Bean and Murphy have reportedly gone on to develop a friendship, but the devout Christian Murphy has never apologized for his comments.

Murphy's comments were thrust back into the spotlight last week when Chicago acquired him from the Washington Nationals and many Cubs fans were upset the team brought in a guy who has never once shown any remorse for straight up homophobia. It got so bad that openly gay Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts—the first openly gay owner in MLB—addressed the issue shortly after Murphy was traded to Chicago last Wednesday:

Advertisement

The debate still rages on, however, and the Braves organist got in on the action last night. "Born this Way" was clearly inspired, while "Lola" added a nice touch of subtlety. And "What the World Needs Now is Love" was just a really pleasant reminder of inclusion. Needless to say, Kaminski got some good reactions to those savvy enough to pick up on his sly nod:

Especially from Cubs fans:

Even if Murphy didn't get the message outright, maybe Kaminski's dulcet tunes helped sink in a more subliminal message. Maybe Murphy woke up today feeling a little less "disapproving." Kaminski, you diabolical genius you.