The Milwaukee Brewers and Major League Baseball responded Wednesday morning to revelations of inflammatory tweets years ago from reliever Josh Hader that came to light during the All-Star Game Tuesday night.
MLB announced that Hader was required to complete sensitivity training and participate in diversity initiatives, but did not fine or suspend him. The Brewers did not indicate whether Hader would be disciplined in any way, but said the club would “continue to work through this issue” with him.
Here is the statement from Brewers general manager David Stearns:
“We have been in contact with Josh and he is fully aware of the seriousness of the situation surrounding his comments on social media, regardless of the timeline of his posts. His comments are inexcusable and he takes full responsibility for the consequences of his comments. These sentiments in no way reflect the opinions of the Brewers organization or our community.
“Those of us who knew Josh do not believe these messages are representative of his beliefs. He has been a good teammate and contributor to the team in every way.
“We will continue to work on this issue with Josh as we prepare to return to games after the break.”
MLB released this statement, including the requirement for sensitivity training:
“During last night’s game, we became aware of Mr. Hader’s unacceptable comments on social media in years past and have since been in communication with the Brewers regarding our shared concerns. After the match, Mr. Hader took the necessary action by expressing remorse for his highly offensive and hurtful language, which does not represent the values of our game and our expectations of everyone within it.
The Commissioner’s Office will require sensitivity training for Mr. Hader and participation in MLB’s diversity and inclusion initiatives.
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Hader’s offensive tweets, posted when he was a teenager in 2011 and 2012, before he became a professional baseball player, came to light while he was attending the All-Star Game in Washington, DC. Hader was voted All-Star for the first time. and one of five representatives of the Brewers.
It’s unclear who exactly drew attention to these tweets, but it created a social media firestorm that Hader learned about after leaving the field, where he allowed a three-run home run to Jean Seattle’s Segura who broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth. inning.
The tweets, many of which appeared to come from musical lyrics, contained homophobic, sexist and racial slurs, including the N-word.
In an interview at the club after the match, Hader said: “I was young, immature and stupid. There is no excuse for what was said.”
Asked about the context of these tweets, Hader said: “This is something that happened when I was 17, and when I was a kid I was immature and obviously did things that were inexcusable. It doesn’t reflect who I am as a person today.
Hader posted the tweets while he was in high school in Millersville, Maryland, about 30 minutes from Nationals Park, where he played in the All-Star Game. He was drafted in June 2012 by the Baltimore Orioles, then traded to Houston and then to the Brewers in July 2015 as one of four prospects collected in exchange for Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers.
“I was in high school,” Hader said. “We’re still learning who we are in high school. You live and you learn. This error will not happen again.
“There is no excuse for what was said, and I am deeply sorry for what I said and what is happening. As I said, this does not reflect my current beliefs.
His teammate and fellow Brewers Lorenzo Cain, an African American, spoke with Hader after the game about what happened, then told reporters about it.
“He’s young; we all say crazy things when we’re young,” Cain said. “That’s the reason I don’t have social media, things like that. You always get in trouble for the things you say when you’re younger.
“We’re going to move on.” The situation is what it is. I know Hader; he’s a great guy. I know he’s a great teammate. I’m doing well. Everything will be alright. We’ll move on.
“At the end of the day, we all said crazy things growing up, even when we were 17, 18 years old. If we could follow each other all day with a recorder, I’m sure we’d all say stupid things.
When asked if Hader apologized to him, Cain replied: “I didn’t ask for an apology. I heard about the hateful comments. That’s all I heard. We’ll talk about it again once we’re on the plane.
Another African-American teammate, star reliever Jeremy Jeffress, told Yahoo Sports: “He made a mistake when he was younger. Sometimes you have to live with your past. That’s not him. He’s will excuse. He will It’s true. I would like and hope that people won’t take it out of context.
“It was a young, stupid mistake. I’ve made a lot of them. He’s a great guy. He’s humble. He doesn’t try to make it seem like he’s someone he’s not. isn’t. It’s just a mistake he made.”
Another Brewers star player, Jesus Aguilar, tweeted his support for Hader on Wednesday, saying he was “obviously” not racist. “He made a mistake 7 years ago. He admitted it, he apologized and most importantly: he learned from it.”
It remains to be seen how much of a distraction this will be for the Brewers when they open the second half Friday night against the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers at Miller Park. Hader will undoubtedly address all of his teammates before this match and is also expected to answer questions from the media.
Manager Craig Counsell withheld his comments Wednesday until he could speak with his players as they reconvene for the second half. In recent years, the team has held a voluntary practice the day before the first game of the second half.
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