Abdul El-Sayed made U.S. history on Tuesday in Michigan by becoming the first Muslim person to get elected to the Senate.
Not everyone was happy about the historic Election Day moment, though, including MLB player Anthony Santander, who currently is a member of the Toronto Blue Jays.
In the wake of El-Sayed’s victory in his Senate race, Santander reposted multiple videos on his Instagram Story that included anti-Muslim rhetoric.
One of the videos reposted by Santander included the caption: “America Voted For Sharia Last Night.” Similar attacks were used by President Donald Trump and others to campaign against El-Sayed ahead of his Senate race against Republican Mike Rogers.
Another video reposted by the 32-year-old Venezuelan Blue Jays player said that “Islam is not peaceful.”
As Santander began to receive backlash online, he eventually deleted the posts, which critics labeled Islamophobic, from his Instagram Story.
The Blue Jays released a statement to address Santander’s posts on Friday.
“Baseball is for everyone, and the Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark,” the team said. “Individual comments do not represent our organization’s values & beliefs.”
Santander signed a five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Blue Jays ahead of the 2025 MLB season. Prior to that, he had played eight seasons for one of Toronto’s division rivals, the Baltimore Orioles.
After playing in just 54 games during his first year with the Blue Jays, Santander did not see the field at all last season due to offseason surgery to repair the left labral in his shoulder.
While the Blue Jays distanced themselves from their outfielder’s statements, some online continued to call for him to be cut by the franchise.
However, releasing the veteran would leave $57.1 million in dead money on their cap sheet going forward. It is unlikely the Blue Jays would want to take on that burden given the uncertainty surrounding an expected lockout looming over MLB if the owners and MLB Players Association are unable to reach a deal by a Dec. 1 deadline.
During a victory speech on Election Day, El-Sayed called out Trump and others who had mocked his Muslim background by, among other things, mispronouncing his name.
“Donald, look, I know you’ve struggled with my name,” El-Sayed said. “So after [Vice President JD Vance] swears me in in January, you can just go on and call me ‘senator.’”