It looks like the bigots are jealous of the gays.
A homophobe defaced posters showing members of the US soccer team — which has five out LGBTQ players — with anti-gay slurs at the 42nd Street–Bryant Park/ Fifth Avenue subway station on the afternoon of July 8 — one day after the team won the World Cup.
According to MTA and NYPD spokespersons, graffiti with “various derogatory anti-sexual orientation comments” was spotted on eight posters across the station at around 1:40 p.m. and police officers were notified.
The NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the case but does not have any leads at this time.
In the meantime, MTA’s maintenance team cleaned the posters and will replace them if necessary.
“Hate has no place in the transit system and we work hard to make the subway a welcoming, safe environment for everyone,” MTA spokesperson Amanda Kwan told Gay City News on July 9.
It is not clear whether the graffiti targeted certain players. The five out LGBTQ players on the team are co-captain Megan Rapinoe, Ali Krieger, Tierna Davidson, Adrianna Franch, and Ashlyn Harris.
The players have not shied away from speaking up about LGBTQ representation in sports. After the US beat France in the quarterfinals, Rapinoe said, “Go gays! You can’t win a championship without gays on your team — it’s never been done before, ever. That’s science right there!”
Rapinoe tweeted a similar message after the team’s July 7 victory, saying, “Science is science. Gays rule.” Harris echoed her teammate’s sentiments when she tweeted, “GAYS rule. It’s science. And you are welcome.”
The US and Netherlands, who faced each other in the final matchup, each had five LGBTQ players apiece, which was the most of any squad in the World Cup.
The players have also mounted resistance to President Donald Trump, raising the possibility of angry responses from his supporters. Rapinoe said during an interview with Eight by Eight late last month that she would not be “going to the fucking White House” if her team wins the World Cup. The president fired back, saying Rapinoe should “WIN first before she TALKS.”
In the end, the team will celebrate their victory in a ticker-tape parade on Wednesday in New York City down the Canyon of Heroes on Broadway between Battery Park and City Hall.
