Mr Petchesky, it may have been worth it to keep reading the article (or to have found a non-truncated version of the article/interview.) The Chicago Tribune's copy of the story ends with this:

Tell that to Jackie Robinson. He and Branch Rickey knew that integrating the Dodgers was going to cause a shitstorm, and they took endless precautions to prepare both themselves and the rest of the team for the change. Change takes time, especially against an entrenched position. The first few openly gay pro athletes…