Report: Pink Sox met with pitcher Matt Dermody about homophobic tweet

Pink Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom mentioned he personally spoke with pitcher Matt Dermody a couple of since-deleted homophobic tweet, in line with MassLive’s Sean McAdam.

Dermody posted the tweet in June of 2021, throughout Satisfaction Month. In response to McAdam it reads:

 “#PrideMonth. Homosexuals is not going to inherit the dominion of God. They are going to go to hell. This isn’t my opinion, however the #Reality. Learn 1 Corinthians 6:9. Might all of us look at our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I really like you all in Christ Jesus!”

The Pink Sox have been unaware of the tweet after they signed Dermody in January and didn’t discover out about it till spring coaching, McAdam reported. The Pink Sox lately referred to as Dermody up from Worcester and plan to start out him Thursday evening.

“It’s essential to us that he had taken the tweet down and essential why he had carried out it,” Bloom mentioned. “I talked to him personally about that and what he informed me was that it actually got here down to 2 issues. One, he didn’t notice that his phrases can be hurtful and he didn’t wish to damage anyone and when he realized that they have been, he took (the submit) down.”

Dermody was pitching in Japan for the Saitama Seibu Lions on the time of the tweet. The crew tweeted an apology, saying that it regretted his remarks.

Bloom mentioned the Pink Sox thought of terminating Dermody’s contract, however determined to not after speaking to him. Bloom mentioned it was essential to be conscious of what the crew’s tasks and added that it’s not the group’s place to police what folks consider.

The Pink Sox are conscious of the optics, however felt it was essential to get the substance of the state of affairs proper, Bloom mentioned.

“To me, that’s why the conversations have been vital,” mentioned Bloom. “Figuring out that the tweet had been taken down and never figuring out anything, I don’t assume you will have sufficient info to decide… Folks do make errors. I believe it’s essential to know whether or not they acknowledge them as errors and why. And if that’s in place, clearly then folks get an opportunity to be judged on their habits going ahead.”

Pink Sox president Sam Kennedy referred to as the tweet “hurtful” in an announcement to MassLive.

“What Matt posted in 2021 was hurtful — and we addressed this with him after we realized about it after he joined the Pink Sox in 2023,” Kennedy mentioned. “Matt, together with all our minor leaguers, went by means of our obligatory anti-discrimination and harassment prevention coaching in March. We can not dictate the spiritual beliefs or political opinions of our gamers and staff, however we do require they deal with folks in our group and ballpark with respect and professionalism.”