Blue Jays’ Bass sorry for sharing anti-LGBTQ2S+ video, says ‘ballpark is for everybody’

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Anthony Bass apologized and said he spoke with his teammates after he shared a controversial video on Instagram that encouraged the boycotting of Target for their support of LGBTQ2S+ rights.

Various Twitter users published screenshots of the alleged video that Bass shared, depicting a man named Ryan Miller behind the Instagram account “dudewithgoodnews,” instructing the audience to consider boycotting Target on behalf of Christianity and the bible.

Bass briefly addressed the media on Tuesday afternoon at the Rogers Centre and did not take questions. In a statement, the 35-year-old apologized for the post he called offensive “to the Pride community.”

“I’m truly sorry for that,” Bass said. “I spoke with my teammates and shared with them my actions from yesterday. I apologized [to] them, and as of right now, I am using the Blue Jays’ resources to better educate myself and make better decisions moving forward.”

Bass added that “the ballpark is for everybody” to include all fans and “welcome everybody.” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the organization did not consider suspending Bass for the video.

“We’re not going to pretend like this never happened,” Schneider said. “We’re not going to pretend like this is the end of it and move on. There are definitely more steps that are going to follow.”

Target, one of America’s largest general-merchandise retailers, offers products promoting Pride Month, often celebrated in June. The website featured hundreds of Pride products, including rainbow shirts for men and a children’s book about pronouns, among other items.

The retailer has since removed some of these merchandise due to backlash allegedly involving death threats to its employees.

Similarly, Bud Light drew criticism from right-wing commentators after partnering with the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney on a marketing campaign in April.

Blue Jays says individual player sentiments not representative of team’s beliefs

The Blue Jays have a scheduled event to kick off Pride Month on the upcoming weekend of June 9 and June 10. On Friday, the first 15,000 fans to enter the stadium will receive a Blue Jays Rainbow Flag Jersey.

A team spokesperson told CityNews the organization is proud to celebrate Pride Month and that “individual player sentiments are not representative of the club’s beliefs.”

“The Blue Jays bring millions of fans together across Canada and are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming experience for all,” the club said in a statement on Monday night.

“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 Blue Jays consulted with MLB and the players’ association when they suspended Yunel Escobar for three games in September 2012 after the shortstop wore eye-black patches with a derogatory term for homosexuals written in Spanish on them.

MLB updated its code of conduct in 2013 to protect players from discrimination based on sexual orientation or race.

Kevin Pillar also received a two-game ban in May 2017 when the outfielder directed a homophobic slur toward Atlanta Braves pitcher Jason Motte during a game.

With files from Sportsnet