Baseball stars Trea Turner and Sean Newcomb apologise for series of anti-gay tweets
(Tom Szczerbowski/getty and Mark Brown/Getty and twitter)
Two baseball stars have apologised for sending anti-gay and racist tweets with slurs including “fag” and “faggot.”
Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb and Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner both sent a slew of tweets in 2011 and 2012 which targeted gay and black people.
Earlier this month, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader was ordered to get sensitivity training after his hateful tweets – including one which said: “I hate gay people” – emerged during the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers (Joe Robbins/Getty)
Hader received a standing ovation when he returned to the field, despite having posted messages including “white power”, the n-word, and several allusions to the KKK.
When Newcomb sent the offensive tweets, he was 18 and 19, playing college baseball for the University of Hartford.
The star called several different concepts and people “fags,” writing: “I’m not lazy #fag” and “This gay black kid won’t stop presenting about black hair… #iwanttoleave.”
Newcombe was playing a game when the tweets surfaced (seannewk/Twitter)
He also wrote: “everyone tweets… #fags,” as well as “and now being with these new fags everyday..” and “I agree @rachwebski , but Jess you’re still a fag.”
Newcomb, who has since deleted his Twitter account, called another user “a fag” and told a different person: “Glastonbury is a fag.”
Newcombe called people “fag” (seannewk/Twitter)
Speaking to the press on Sunday night (July 29), the player said: “This is something that obviously can’t be happening.
“I feel bad about it. I don’t mean to offend anybody. I definitely regret it.”
Newcombe speaks to the media (Scott Cunningham/Getty)
He added that he “meant nothing by it. I didn’t mean to offend anybody and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Turner sent three tweets when he was 18 which have sparked a separate controversy.
While he was at North Carolina State University, the player wrote: “Once u go black, ur gonna need a wheelchair.”
Turner was 18 and 19 when he sent the tweets (treavturner/Twitter)
A couple of months later, he responded to another Twitter user, saying: “Your gay for your last tweet. 2. …..retard strength droopy.”
And six days after that, Turner wrote: “When the lady at the drive through asks whose the faggot in the back? Oh that would be me.”
The Nationals star, who has removed the offensive tweets from his account, said there was no excuse for the language in these posts, and that he was “sincerely sorry for those tweets and apologise wholeheartedly.”
Turner has apologised for the posts (Mitchell Leff/Getty)
In a statement issued by his team, he continued: “I believe people who know me understand those regrettable actions do not reflect my values or who I am.
“But I understand the hurtful nature of such language and am sorry to have brought any negative light to the Nationals organisation, myself or the game I love.”
It is expected that like Hader, Turner and Newcomb will not receive any punishment from Major League Baseball, and will instead be ordered by their teams to receive sensitivity training.
Earlier this year, PinkNews wrote a guide on how to apologise for homophobia.
