Red Sox Fans Furious After Promotion Of Pitcher With Homophobic Tweet
On Thursday, the Boston Red Sox promoted pitcher Matt Dermody for a fill-in start against the Cleveland Guardians.
Fans quickly unearthed a since-deleted tweet from June of 2021 stating, "Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell."
Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom confirmed to MassLive's Sean McAdam that the team was unaware of this tweet prior to signing Dermody, but that they talked about it with the Sox pitcher and he understood that "his words were hurtful."
A quick search of Matt Dermody's name on Twitter will show you how it appears the majority of Red Sox supporters and onlookers feel about the move to promote him to the big league club. My co-host of the ITM Podcast Joey Copponi expressed his thoughts as well and surely didn't hold back.
The most eye-opening part of this whole situation is thinking this decision wouldn't be amplified by the fact that it's currently Pride Month.
The Red Sox are set to host Pride Night at Fenway Park on June 13, and if Dermody stays with the club he would be in line to get the ball that night. I can't even begin to imagine the backlash that would receive if he actually gets the ball for that game on Tuesday.
Putting this aside, it's not as if Dermody has been lights out in Triple-A Worcester either. He has a 4.50 ERA with the WooSox and has only had two Major League Baseball outings over the last five years.
Bloom expressed to multiple Red Sox reporters that what Dermody expressed in that deleted tweet was not right. But it still feels off that there is a level of acceptance for something that the team so strongly disagrees with.
If there was a real distaste for Dermody's actions then there is simply no way he would be getting the ball in Cleveland, or even be playing for this organization at all.
“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 told MassLive.
I just hope that if the Red Sox continue to sell merchandise and promote their acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, they take a real strong look in the mirror at the product they are trying to sell on the field. At least as of Thursday night, the two clearly don't line up.
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