Cubs Welcome First Openly Gay MLB Owner

By Joseph Erbentraut in News on Nov 4, 2009 4:40PM

With last week's announcement of the Cubbies' new ownership - the Ricketts family - came a historic, gay caveat. One of the four new sibling owners, out lesbian Laura Ricketts, has become the first openly gay owner of a professional sports team.

Ricketts serves on the board of Lambda Legal, a nationwide LGBT advocacy organization that defends its clients against discrimination and supports same-sex marriage. Her work on LGBT issues stands in stark contrast to her family. Brother and fellow part owner Pete was formerly a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska, running on a socially conservative platform including opposition to gay marriage and abortion. This apparently does not create too much of a rift for Laura and family, however. "We don't agree on all the issues of the day but when it comes right down to it, we are family and love each other and that doesn't, that never changes," Laura told ABC7Chicago.com. "But it certainly makes for lively conversations."

And, judging by the success of homophobic "Cubs gay parade" t-shirts last summer, the news could certainly make for some lively t-shirt designs, not to mention strange future Mariotti columns.