Zach Eflin, a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays in Major League Baseball, was asked to remove his wedding ring from his left hand or leave the game in his last appearance. Eflin announced afterward that for his next start, he would not be removing the wedding ring as a symbolic gesture toward his wife.
Zach Eflin says he would have been ejected if he didn’t take off his rubber wedding band pic.twitter.com/mYyVdE6PNG
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 4, 2023
Eflin spoke about the issue, saying that he would be willing to accept whatever consequences the umpire crew may throw his way. He also added that this issue would not affect his play or that of other players in the game, according to Fox News, saying:
“We’ll see how the umpire crew is.”
“I’m going to wear it. I don’t think I’m ever really going to take it off because they want me to take it off. If they asked me to take it off, because they’re going to eject me out of the game, then I’ll take it off. But like I keep telling everybody, it’s important to me. It’s my representation of the covenant I have with my wife. So if other people have problems with that, and then so be it….
“If they’re really coming after me for a rubber wedding ring, then I think they have their head in the wrong spot.”
Eflin made sure to be clear that the rubber wedding band would not give him any sort of competitive advantage:
“It’s on my glove hand and I never really use both my hands to rub down the ball. So you don’t really even see it when I’m out there anyway. So the only time they really see it is if we’re in a very cold game, or when I’m getting checked off to the side.”
Eflin isn’t the only star athlete in the news recently for voicing his love of marriage. NFL kicker Harrison Butker spoke to recent graduates from Georgia Tech University and told them that the greatest joy and source of meaning in life is marriage and raising a family. He said:
“I am someone not much older than all of you, yet I’ve been asked to speak, not because I am a great orator or because I have a number of impressive accolades, well, I guess I do have two Super Bowl rings. I just happen to be blessed by God to be really good at kicking a funny-shaped ball between two yellow posts. So as someone who is not paid to speak for a living, I’m about to pop off some hard truths.
“I don’t care if you have a successful career. I don’t care if you have a big bank account or you fly private. Many of you in this crowd will achieve these things. Some of you maybe already have, but in the end, no matter how much money you attain, none of it will matter if you are alone and devoid of purpose.”
“It is important to use today as an opportunity to take stock of your mission. Our culture is suffering. We all see it. It doesn’t matter which political persuasion you sit on, or whether you are a person of deep faith or not. Anyone with eyes can see that something is off.
“Studies have shown one of the many negative effects of the pandemic is that a lot of young adults feel a sense of loneliness, anxiety, and depression despite technology that has connected us more than ever before. It would seem the more connected people are to one another, the more they feel alone. I’m not sure the root of this, but at least I can offer one controversial antidote that I believe will have a lasting impact for generations to come. Get married and start a family.”
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