White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech says he deleted some racist and homophobic tweets he made in 2013 after screenshots resurfaced on Twitter. The tweets, made when he was 17 (he’s now 22) included using the N-word and F-word and using the word “gay” as a pejorative.
MLB players Trea Turner, Sean Newcomb and Josh Hader have all recently apologized and/or been disciplined after similar tweets from their pasts surfaced.
here's some of them pic.twitter.com/mhZNGwE6UK
— britney (@mylittlefaith) August 20, 2018
Said Kopech to the Chicago Sun-Times: “Yeah, I had to delete some stuff. Things I said that were immature and inappropriate. I used some poor language in there. Obviously, I’m trying to be looked at as a role model, and the last thing I want to do is have some kid look at what I’m saying and take it the wrong way..It’s unfortunate that I was ever at that point mentally, but it’s not who I am now…It was something I did in high school, and with everything I’ve gone through in pro ball the last five seasons, I feel like a big part of my career was maturing…Hate to see it, but it’s not who I am anymore.”
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn said Kopech has been contrite and upfront about the tweets and they are satisfied with his explanations: “He has taken responsibility and apologized for his offensive and inappropriate word choices at the time, but has stressed that those careless words do not reflect who he is today. It is certainly true they don’t reflect the young man we know as a maturing, growing and developing member of our organization.’’
The crowd on #KopechDay was loud and on 🔥! We are looking forward to many more @MichaelKopech5 starts. https://t.co/mwf33xzk8Q
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) August 23, 2018
