Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger tweeted himself into hot water on Thursday by expressing his frustration and outrage at President Obama and the protesters in Charlotte.
One of his tweets said, ”Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black police officer hahaha Shit cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the anthem!”
Clevenger also tweeted:
“BLM is pathetic once Again! Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals!”
In an official statement General Manager Jerry Dipoto said that the Mariners were “very disappointed” with Clevenger’s tweets. Friday the team suspended the 30-year-old journeyman for the rest of the season.
“While he is certainly free to express himself, his tweets do not in any way represent the opinions of the Seattle Mariners,” Dipoto said. “We strongly disagree with the language and tone of his comments.”
According to the Associated Press Clevenger’s Twitter account was changed to private Thursday night.
Below is a screen shot of the tweets:
#Mariners say they are "looking into" controversial tweets coming pitcher Steve Clevenger's account screencapped by @cablebox666: pic.twitter.com/RcWNdqflGV
— Jon Humbert (@jonhumbert) September 22, 2016
Fox News reported Thursday night Clevenger apologized for the “distraction my tweets on my personal twitter page caused when they went public earlier today.”
He added “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.”
Clevenger placed on the disabled list with a hand injury since June 30, played in only 22 games this year batting .221 with one home run and seven RBIs in 68 at-bats.
The gritty backstop said that he grew up in the streets of Baltimore and is “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.”
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