Red Sox pitcher Matt Dermody, who is being called up from Triple-A Worcester to pitch against the Guardians on Thursday night, has come under fire for a past anti-LGBTQ tweet that has since been deleted from his personal account.
On June 26, 2021, Dermody tweeted “#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. This is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom confirmed to Sean McAdam of MassLive that the organization was aware of Dermody’s tweet, which resulted in a meeting during this year’s spring training when Boston learned of it.
“It’s important to us that he had taken the tweet down and important why he had done it,” Bloom told MassLive. “I talked to him personally about that and what he told me was that it really came down to two things. One, he didn’t realize that his words would be hurtful and he didn’t want to hurt anybody and when he realized that they were, he took it down.
“He also understood that it’s not the right use of his platform. He knows he made a mistake tweeting that. That’s why he took it down. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that we endorse anything he said or anything he believes. But the fact of the matter is, if we’re committed to creating an inclusive environment, it’s not right for us to police what people believe.”
Bloom added that ownership was aware of the tweet and that consideration was given to terminating his contract with the club before speaking with him.
“To me, that’s why conversations were necessary,” Bloom added. “Knowing that the tweet had been taken down and not knowing anything else, I don’t think you have enough information to make a decision. … People do make mistakes. I think it’s important to understand whether they recognize them as mistakes and why. And if that’s in place, obviously then people get a chance to be judged on their behavior going forward.”
The 32-year-old Dermody has pitched in 30 major league contests over four seasons with the Blue Jays and the Cubs. Thursday will mark his first start with the Red Sox. In nine games in Worcester this season, Dermody is 2–2 with a 4.50 ERA.
