Thursday afternoon the Mariners released a statement saying they are "very disappointed" in catcher Steve Clevenger, who posted some comments disparaging recent protests on Twitter earlier in the day.
Here is the team's statement:
The Seattle Mariners are very disappointed at the tweets posted on Steve Clevenger's account. While he is certainly free to express himself, his tweets do not in any way represent the opinions of the Seattle Mariners. We strongly disagree with the language and tone of his comments.
We are currently examining all internal options that are available to us as we determine appropriate next steps.
We will have no further comment at this time.
Clevenger has since deleted his Twitter account. You can see the tweets that prompted the team's statement here and here. They include some NSFW language.
A few hours later, Clevenger issued an apology for his comments.
"First and foremost I would like to apologize to the Seattle Mariners, my teammates, my family and the fans of our great game for the distraction my tweets on my personal Twitter page caused when they went public earlier today. I am sickened by the idea that anyone would think of me in racist terms. My tweets were reactionary to the events I saw on the news and were worded beyond poorly at best and I can see how and why someone could read into my tweets far more deeply than how I actually feel.
"I grew up on the streets of Baltimore, a city I love to this very day. I grew up in a very culturally diverse area of America and I am very proud to come from there. I am also proud that my inner circle of friends has never been defined by race but by the content of their character. Any former teammate or anyone who has met me can attest to this and I pride myself on not being a judgemental person. I just ask that the public not judge me because of an ill worded tweet.
"I do believe that supporting our First Amendment rights and supporting local law enforcement are not mutually exclusive. With everything going on in the world I really just want what is best for everyone regardless of who they are. I like many Americans are frustrated by a lot of things in the world and I would like to be a part of the dialogue moving forward to make this a better world for everyone.
"I once again apologize to anyone who was offended today and I just ask you not judge me off of a social media posting. Thank you and God bless everyone."
MLB implemented a social media policy in 2012 that mostly provides guidelines for interacting with fans, but also prohibits content that is "derogatory or insensitive to individuals based on race, color, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or religion, including, but not limited to, slurs, jokes, stereotypes or other inappropriate remarks."
Players are subject to discipline based on social media content. Pablo Sandoval was suspended one game by the Red Sox last season after using Instagram during a game.
