Braves Pitcher Sean Newcomb Nearly Throws No-Hitter, But Feat Overshadowed When Offensive Tweets Resurface
Sean Newcomb, a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, gave an impressive show of skill against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He almost threw a no-hitter against the team. But it’s being undermined by the reveal of a series of offensive tweets that the 25-year-old baseball player made when he was a teenager.
The tweets are racist and homophobic, ESPN reports, and Holcomb has apologized for them.
“I just wanted to apologize for any insensitive material,” he said in the apology. “It was a long time ago, six or seven years ago, saying some stupid stuff with friends.”
As ESPN notes, one of the tweets quoted a rap lyric but the others included slurs against the LGBT community. A Twitter user with the handle @NatsSquid posted the tweets and one of them shows him complaining about a presentation about African-American hair.
“I know I’ve grown a lot since then. I didn’t mean anything by it. It was just something stupid I did a long time ago, and I didn’t mean anything by it, for sure,” he added.
The Atlanta Braves have also issued a statement about the racist, homophobic tweets.
Statement from the Atlanta Braves regarding Sean Newcomb: pic.twitter.com/T9kP9TF5d1
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 29, 2018
As the Bleacher Report notes, news of Holcomb’s tweets comes after racially offensive tweets from Milwaukee Brewers’ relief pitcher Josh Hader were unearthed. According to Bleacher Report, Hader was not suspended because of them.
The Washington Post reports that he also received support from African-American players on the team and a standing ovation from fans after the tweets were revealed.
In Josh Hader’s seven-year-old tweets, he voiced support for “white power,” disrespected women and included the “n-word.” He also apologized for his tweets and claimed that he no longer agreed with the views expressed back then.
“They weren’t meaningful to me,” Hader said to the press when he was asked about the old Twitter posts. “That’s not my beliefs at all.”
During another press conference where he spoke about the tweets, his African-American teammates stood behind him, including Lorenzo Cain, Keon Broxton, Eric Thames, and Jeremy Jeffress, the Washington Post reports.
“I’m grateful for having my teammates behind me and supporting me,” Hader said. “I hope they know the character that I really am and the person that I truly am.”
The Milwaukee Brewers have not suspended Hader for the tweets, but he has been sent to sensitivity classes.
Sean Newcomb missed the no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers by one out, which is still an extraordinary feat. But we’ll have to wait and see whether the tweets will tarnish any kind of sporting legacy that he’s trying to build.
