Criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement and Obama has resulted in the unpaid suspension of Seattle Mariner Steve Clevenger. He is suspended for the remainder of the season.
The Seattle Mariners have suspended Steve Clevenger for the rest of the MLB season after the catcher labeled the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and President Barack Obama “pathetic” on Twitter Thursday.Clevenger also also [sic] mocked the protests of sports stars kneeling during the US anthem and seemed to suggest all involved in protesting the death of Keith Lamont Scott at the hands of police in Charlotte, North Carolina, should be locked up like “animals.”Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black officer haha s**t cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the anthem!” Clevenger tweeted Thursday.Another post stated: “BLM is pathetic once again! Obama is pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals.”
The Mariners’ general manager issued a statement.
Via NBC Sports:
In case the above tweet or image don’t show up, it reads:”The Seattle Mariners are very disappointed at the tweets posted on Steve Clevenger’s account. While he is certainly free to express himself, his tweets do not in any way represent the opinions of the Seattle Mariners. We strongly disagree with the language and tone of his comments.We are currently examining all internal options that are available to us as we determine appropriate next steps. We will have no further comment at this time.”
As we’ve come to expect in such instances, Clevenger has issued his own statement of apology and regret.
First and foremost I would like to apologize to the Seattle Mariners, my teammates, my family and the fans of our great game for the distraction my tweets on my personal twitter page caused when they went public earlier today. I am sickened by the idea that anyone would think of me in racist terms. My tweets were reactionary to the events I saw on the news and were worded beyond poorly at best and I can see how and why someone could read into my tweets far more deeply than how I actually feel.I grew up on the streets of Baltimore, a city I love to this very day. I grew up in a very culturally diverse area of America and I am very proud to come from there. I am also proud that my inner circle of friends has never been defined by race but by the content of their character. Any former teammate or anyone who has met me can attest to this and I pride myself on not being a judgemental person. I just ask that the public not judge me because of an ill worded tweet.I do believe that supporting our First Amendment rights and supporting local law enforcement are not mutually exclusive. With everything going on in the world I really just want what is best for everyone regardless of who they are. I like many Americans are frustrated by a lot of things in the world and I would like to be a part of the dialogue moving forward to make this a better world for everyone.I once again apologize to anyone who was offended today and I just ask you not judge me off of a social media posting. Thank you and God bless everyone.
Watch the report:
Undisputed has more, including Skip saying that he’s “ashamed to share this man’s skin color” and declaring the tweets “evil thoughts”:
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