MLB star Anthony Bass apologised after the Toronto Blue Jays pitcher shared a post instructing Christian faith followers to boycott brands for their support of LGBTQ rights.
Bass is already a controversial figure within the Blue Jays organisation due to his controversial antics away from baseball as well as public friendships with far-right personalities. On Monday morning, Bass shared an Instagram story from the ‘dudewithgoodnews’ account, with the video instructing people of the Christian faith to boycott Target and Bud Light for supporting LGBTQ communities.
Target and Bud Light are in the middle of a controversy fuelled by conservative and alt-right U.S. media. The beverage company have been a target for right-wing political commentators while stocks have plummeted due to boycotts following a marketing campaign with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in April.
Meanwhile, Target faced considerable backlash from conservatives over its sale of products while displaying Pride symbolism. Members on the right believed the retail corporation’s Pride products were part of a sweeping conspiracy to influence children’s self-identity.
At Rogers Centre on Tuesday night, Bass - who shared the controversial post to his 34,100 followers - addressed reporters regarding his support for the anti-LGBTQ movement outside the home dugout before the Blue Jays’ series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers.
“I’ll make this quick,” Bass began. “I recognise yesterday that I made a post that was hurtful to the Pride community, which includes friends of mine and close family members of mine, and I am truly sorry for that.
“I just spoke with my teammates and shared with them my actions yesterday. I apologised with them and, as of right now, I am using the Blue Jays’ resources to better educate myself to make better decisions moving forward. The ballpark is for everybody. We include all fans at the ballpark, and we want to welcome everybody. That’s all I have to say.”
Bass - who removed the post from his story - reportedly apologised to general manager Ross Atkins and Blue Jays manager John Schneider on Tuesday, while he also apologised to his teammates as a group. Pride Toronto executive director Sherwin Modeste feels the Blue Jays have an opportunity to turn Bass’s negative action into a positive.
“I think (the team can) just continue to do what is right and continue to respect diversity and continue to spread love, continue to show their support for the 2SLGBTQ community,” Modeste said. “But at the same time, they also have a responsibility to hold all of their staff, all of their players, everyone that’s associated with the Jays, they need to hold them accountable and that I would leave for them to manage.”
He added: “Let’s also think about the young person that might be a prospect or might potentially be the next baseball player. And seeing this can deter them. So we need to find opportunities to strengthen our community, not to bring our community down.”
The annual Blue Jays Pride weekend is set for June 9-10 with a rainbow flag jersey giveaway planned. Meanwhile, the 29-26 Blue Jays take on the Brewers again in their next contest on Wednesday night after defeating them 7-2 on Tuesday.
