Best Drama: Dallas gay softball
February 25th, 2008Just got off the phone with Jaymee Johnson, former recruiting coordinator for the Pegasus Slowpitch Softball Association. Turns out the rumor about his death was just a rumor, and Johnson is alive and well. There’ll be more in this week’s print edition, but for now I’ll just note that a few people have discovered the comments section of Dallas Voice’s weekly Speak Out poll and turned it into a forum for discussion of this issue. That’s fine, except this week’s poll has nothing to do with softball or Johnson. We’re hoping these same people will discover the comments section of our new blog, Instant Tea. We’re still working out some kinks, but to comment on a post, just click where it says how many comments there are, i.e. “no comments,” “1 comment,” “1,647 comments,” etc. This link is below the post itself on the right-hand side. Your comment may not show up instantaneously, so be patient.
— John Wright
February 25th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
There were literally HUNDREDS of people upset about this. All because of an irresponsible email that was sent out by Jaymee’s ex partner. The Pier 1 Imports Corporate Headquarters in Ft. Worth and the ING Clarion office in Dallas and the Jones Lang LaSalle office in Addison (all former employers) nearly had to shut their offices down on Friday because of the sheer number of people who were upset. I know that Jaymee did some bad things. I also know that the thought of him being dead was not worth all of this. We love Jaymee with all of our hearts and we know that inside of him is a good man who made some bad choices, the same as every other person in this world. Some people have made this such a personal issue and it really makes me despise them for what they have done. I am one of many straight friends blessed to call Jaymee a friend. It amazed me how in his professional life he chose to live it as out and open as he did in his professional career. To see this idle chatter that turned into such a thunderstorm and the hurt and damage, then resurrection of such a great man, only makes me continue to question, does the Gay Community really have it together. Or is it just some people that are fitting this mold of adolescent and immature behavior. To the gay community I would say acceptance begins with yourself and you people have to accept that even amongst all of you there are people with problems and internal strife in their life and you need to search out and help those people instead of abandon them in their time of need. I hope that this is a wake up call to this “charitable” organization that I donated to many times on behalf of Jaymee’s request that you need to better understand each other and care for each other and love one another just as we straights all love Jaymee and that the world would be a much less happy place without him in it. Shame Shame Shame!!! OB Walker
February 25th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
First of all, let’s clarify exactly who started the rumor about Jaymee Johnson being dead—HE DID!. This individual is solely responsible for every crime that he has committed, and continues to try to deflect a focus upon his guilt by continuing to slanderize anyone who knows something about him.
Furthermore, he is responsible for submitting letters to defend his “good name”. To be perfectly clear, Jaymee Johnson is responsible for slanderous comments which are being posted on your Speak Out Poll.
There are many great people in Dallas who play on the gay softball league. It is completely unfortunate that the group as a whole is being ridiculed by Jaymee’s slanderous comments that he is posting under different alias’.
I find his recent apology letter nauseating. He was clear to apologize for ONE of his crimes, which was stealing from the Pegasus Softball League. He completely failed to mention his string of other crimes that he committed prior to skipping town in December.
Lastly, I feel that the Voice should not help this criminal individual propagate his intent to dispell “rumors” about him. He is starting the rumors! and then blaming innocent individuals for these acts.
-Anonymous yet Emphatic
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:06 pm
To the first letter: I can certainly sympathize with your feeling of shock when you receive information about someone you have cared for. All of us initially felt sadness about the situation. Unfortunately those feelings of sadness turned quickly to disgust when, once again, we found out that Jaymee was up to one of his schemes. After reading your letter, I find it necessary to tell you that your ignorance of the truth has certainly given you a distorted response to the situation. I am not saying that you’re ignorant; your response would be perfectly normal, if indeed the information that you have received were the truth. Unfortunately you have not received the truth. And, your attack on the gay community is unwarranted, because we know the truth. It is our community that has been assaulted by this dishonest man- Not only his stealing, but his incessant need to distort the truth to cover his injustices.
Jaymee Johnson wrote the “death letter” himself. In fact, he had previously wrote to everyone in the softball league that he would kill himself and needed the money that he stole to bury himself. Furthermore, he played upon the emotions of other people (especially his EX) to broadcast his wicked message.