A Boston Red Sox pitcher is being scrutinized for a years-old tweet in which he shared the Christian teaching on homosexuality before his first start in Major League Baseball.
Matt Dermody spoke about the topic in a 2021 tweet. The pitcher was a member of the Saitama Seibu Lions at the time, a Japanese baseball team.
The Iowa native addressed the celebration of LGBT “pride month” in the message.
“#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. That is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9.”
“May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us, and repent for our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”
Here is the tweet by Lions pitcher Matt Dermody that has now been deleted. Would like to see an apology from him, too. @lions_official @NPB_Reddit @npb @JCoskrey pic.twitter.com/WPfaz7ZaTi
— Big in Japan (@nihonbig) June 27, 2021
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom addressed the old tweet in a Wednesday statement provided to Mass Live.
“He also understood that it’s not the right use of his platform. He knows he made a mistake tweeting that.”
Bloom revealed that the team had confronted Dermody regarding his social media use in spring training.
“That’s why he took it down. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that we endorse anything he said or anything he believes.”
“But 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 admitted that the Red Sox “absolutely” thought about releasing Dermody after learning about his old social media posts — only to be demurred after team officials spoke to the pitcher about them.
The 32-year-old Dermody has pitched in relief for the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs before.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora asserted that Dermody was scheduled to start in a pre-game interview.
The manager addressed the Red Sox’s workplace policies in his remarks.
Alex Cora was asked about Matt Dermody making the start tonight. #RedSox pic.twitter.com/PDd2d2S1He
— Tom Caron (blue checkmark redacted) (@TomCaron) June 8, 2023
Dermody is still starting for the Red Sox in their Thursday road contest against the Cleveland Guardians.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.