Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner apologized Sunday after old tweets containing racist and homophobic messages resurfaced. (AP)
Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner was forced to apologize Sunday after racist and homophobic tweets from the past resurfaced.
Turner issued a statement apologizing for his “insensitive and offensive language on Twitter,” after a series of controversial posts made their way back into the public eye following a 5-0 loss to the Miami Marlins.
“I am sincerely sorry for those tweets and apologize wholeheartedly,” Turner said. He said “those regrettable actions do not reflect my values or who I am.”
Mike Rizzo, the Nationals general manager, said the tweets, which date back to 2011 and 2012, “are not indicative of how he has conducted himself while part of our team,” and that Turner has been a “good teammate and model citizen in our clubhouse.”
“He understands that his comments — regardless of when they were posted — are inexcusable and is taking full responsibility for his actions. The Nationals organization does not condone discrimination in any form, and his comments in no way reflect the values of our club,” he said in a statement.
According to screengrabs of one the tweets, Turner made an offensive comment directed toward African-Americans, while using a slur for gay people in another.
The same day, Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb had to call reporters back to the locker room following his near no-hitter performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers to say he was sorry for similar tweets that reemerged from 2011 and 2012.
Screengrabs of the tweets, which have since been deleted, showed Newcomb using a similar language, as well as the n-word.
"I know I've grown a lot since then," the 25-year-old Massachusetts native said. "I didn't mean anything by it. It was just something stupid I did a long time ago and I didn't mean anything by it, for sure."
Major League Baseball said in a statement that Newcomb's comments "have no place in our game,” and that MLB's vice president for social responsibility, Billy Bean, “will identify an appropriate course of diversity training for him.”
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader avoided a suspension, and instead was instructed to undergo sensitivity training after Twitter users unearthed his 7-year-old homophobic and racist tweets following his performance at the MLB All-Star Game earlier this month.
In his first appearance back on the mound in front of the home crowd since the controversy, Hader was greeted with a standing ovation.
Fox News' Samuel Chamberlain and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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