Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Anthony Bass succumbed to the backlash he received for his support of a video calling for Christians to boycott Target and Bud Light.
On Tuesday, the Blue Jays posted a brief video on its Twitter page of Bass giving a statement to the media. He apologized for his decision to repost a video to his Instagram story titled “The Biblical Reason Christians Should Boycott Target,” per the New York Post.
“I recognize yesterday I made a post that was hurtful to the Pride community, which includes friends of mine and close family members of mine. And I am truly sorry for that,” Bass said.
He continued:
“I just spoke with my teammates and shared with them my actions yesterday. I apologized with them, and as of right now I am using the Blue Jays’ resources to better educate myself to make better decisions moving forward. The ballpark is for everybody. We include all fans at the ballpark. We want to welcome everybody. That’s all I have to say.”
Statement from Anthony Bass: pic.twitter.com/UXLrx1HVO5
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) May 30, 2023
The Blue Jays also issued a statement regarding what Bass said:
“The Blue Jays bring millions of fans together across Canada and are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming experience for all. The Blue Jays are proud to celebrate LGBTQ2S+ Pride Month, including a special fourth annual Pride Weekend at the ballpark June 9 and 10, and demonstrations of allyship all month long around the ballpark,” the team wrote, per MLB.com.
The Blue Jays said, “Individual player sentiments are not representative of the club’s beliefs.”
In the video, posted on May 25, Ryan Miller, from the verified Instagram account “dude with goodness,” quoted Ephesians 5:11, telling Christians to, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
Miller explained Christians shouldn’t spend money at businesses such as Target and Bud Light that are “shoving” darkness into “children’s faces.”
“[Target] we will expose your works of darkness. For those who don’t know, Target has begun pushing the message of transitioning to young people and teamed up with a satanist (sic) to push pro Satan (sic) clothing and pins to children,” he wrote in the caption.
Miller added, “The enemy isn’t even hiding anymore.”
Recently, Target teamed up with transgender designer, Eric Carnell, to create LGBTQ-themed products in celebration of Pride Month in June. The apparel featured slogans such as, “Satan Respects Pronouns,” and imagery of Baphomet, a Satanic symbol, on the apparel, per Fox News.
This incident is the latest where Bass has come under fire.
Bass sparked a social media firestorm in April when complained about an United Airlines employee for refusing to clean up popcorn spilled by his children. His pregnant wife picked up the popcorn, according to Fox News.