On Friday, September 23rd, the Seattle Mariners, a Major League Baseball team, suspended backup catcher Steve Clevenger without pay for the rest of the season. While at first, this may seem like an extreme punishment, once you hear what Clevenger did to deserve the suspension, it will seem just. On the afternoon of September 22nd, Steve sent out a series of tweets in response to the protests happening in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. And while it's not strange to see athletes responding to the social issues of the day, Clevenger's tweets were particularly astonishing.
Clevenger was highly critical of the situation (if we can even call it critical). He found the event funny and commented on how the Black Lives Matter movement is "pathetic" and that everyone involved "deserves to be locked up like animals." Screenshots of the two tweets are linked here, as Clevenger's twitter account is now private and limited to 2,000 or so followers after the incident. Almost immediately he received backlash for his statements, which he rightfully deserves for making such highly discriminatory and racist comments.
The Mariners responded quickly to the incident. General Manager Jerry Dipoto said, in a statement released today with the suspension, that as soon as The Mariners knew of the tweets, the team started evaluating their options in regards to Clevenger. Thankfully the Mariners made the right decision, sending a strong message to both the MLB organizations and the sports community. The Seattle Mariners will not tolerate those who speak intolerance and hate about others; especially not those who make racist comments about serious civil issues.
And so I say thank you to the Seattle Mariners. Thank you for standing up for those who are being unjustly attacked for using their right to protest. Thank you for defending those who are not in positions of power. Thank you for being one of the most diverse teams in Major League Baseball and treating all of your players with respect and equality. They should not have to deal with someone like Steve Clevenger in their clubhouse. A place where the team is supposed to be a unit that can trust everyone is not a place for a person like Clevenger. Actually, after the incident had come to light, several players said "Good riddance" to Steve Clevenger off the record. The players will not allow incidents like that to happen in the Mariners clubhouse on their watch.
Hopefully, this will be the last many of us will hear of Steve Clevenger. From here, he will hopefully fall into obscurity for his awful comments. He's an average player that has only really been used in baseball as a trading chip for other teams to acquire better players. (Such as the Cubs picking up Jake Arrieta from the Orioles for this guy.) Seeing players like Clevenger being weeded out of professional sports is a step in the right direction for both the Mariners, Major League Baseball, and sports as a whole.
Racism should not be tolerated in any form, no matter what your status or profession is. The Seattle Mariners are taking that stance here this week. Intolerance is not acceptable at any level.
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