Before joining the Boston Red Sox, pitcher Matt Dermody sent a controversial homophobic tweet. And before he made his first start for the team, the Red Sox addressed it.
Back in 2021, when he was still pitching in Japan, Matt Dermody sent a since-deleted tweet declaring that homosexuals “will go to hell.”
“#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. That 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 for our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!” Dermody said in the tweet.
According to Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, Dermody “didn’t realize” that saying homosexuals “will go to hell” would be hurtful.
“It’s important to us that he had taken the tweet down and important why he had done it,” Bloom said. “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 (the post) 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.
“We do need to expect that everybody here is going to be committed to creating an inclusive and safe environment and so understanding why he had taken the tweet down and that his words were hurtful, and knowing that he doesn’t want to hurt anybody and that he believes in a safe environment, was important here.”
Dermody made his first start for the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night where he gave up two home runs and was pulled after just four innings.
[MassLive]
