Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb should be basking in the glory of his near no-hitter on Sunday.
FOX Sports: Braves on Twitter
The emotions kinda picked me up, for sure.” @KelsWingert catches up with @Braves starter Sean Newcomb after he nearly no-hit the Dodgers. #Braves | #ChopOn https://t.co/MoSffw4YpQ
Instead, he is the latest victim of his own ignorance from the past, thanks to Twitter.
jordan cornette on Twitter
The tweet police went on a deep dive into Sean Newcomb’s Twitter feed. And, well, you know the rest.
Moments after being praised for his efforts, the Atlanta Braves had to open back up the clubhouse so Newcomb could address offensive Tweets that he sent in 2011, which the organization called hurtful and incredibly disappointing.
Here are a few of Newcomb’s young and dumb deliveries.
The Braves organization attempted to separate themselves from this PR disaster.
Atlanta Braves on Twitter
Statement from the Atlanta Braves regarding Sean Newcomb:
Newcomb addressed the Tweets, apologized and of course, attributed it to something he said when he was young. That seems to be the common defense as more and more of these kinds of Tweets surface.
Kelsey Wingert on Twitter
Sean Newcomb said he saw the tweets resurfaced when he was on his phone after today’s game and he wanted to get ahead of it and apologize, so he asked the #Braves if he could meet with media now to issue statement.
Kelsey Wingert on Twitter
When asked if he was worried about how stuff like this would play in the clubhouse, “I think that people who know me know that’s not the kind of person I am.” – #Braves Sean Newcomb @FOXSportsBraves
The lingering and un-erasable damage that Twitter can do to a reputation has been front and center in MLB the past month.
First, Josh Hader was the center of negative attention when racially insensitive Tweets that he made seven years prior surfaced in the middle of his first All-star game appearance.
Hader apologized and was ordered into MLB sensitivity training as a form of rehabilitation/punishment.
Haders situation has led to several MLB players old tweets being dug up, which contain racially insensitive and homophobic content.
Now, no player is safe from their Twitter history, even if it was written years prior to them maturing, becoming famous and realizing that that kind of speech wont get them anywhere but in deep trouble and identified as racist or homophobic.
After Hader was cheered by Brewers fans and booed by San Francisco fans upon his return to the mound, Washington Nationals player Trea Turner got put on blast for Tweets he made in 2011 and 2012.
Chelsea Janes on Twitter
A few of Trea Turner’s tweets from 2011 and 2012 resurfaced today. They include racially insensitive language and homophobic slurs. The Nationals are aware of this, and are gathering information.
Newcomb is the latest white player whose past racist and intolerant tweets have come back to bite him in the rear.
It makes you take a deeper look at the declining Black culture of baseball over the past 10 years, as well as the decline in Black players, managers and coaches
At the very least, it tarnishes the image of a game that rose to epic heights after the inclusion of Jackie Robinson and the influx of Black and Latino players over the past half century.
