Red Sox under fire for pitcher Matt Dermody's homophobic tweets

Publish date: 2024-05-15

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The Red Sox are doing damage control in the wake of past homophobic tweets from pitcher Matt Dermody, who started Boston’s game Thursday against the Guardians.

Dermody, 32, posted a tweet in June 2021 — when he was a member of the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan — denouncing homosexuality as a sin in the name of his Christian faith.

“#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. That is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us, and repent for our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!” the tweet read.

Dermody later deleted the tweet, which is why the Red Sox are claiming they didn’t see it prior to the team signing him in January.

But with the pitcher making his first start Thursday night, Boston team president Chaim Bloom said it was “important” they had a conversation before he did so.

“It’s important to us that he had taken the tweet down and important why he had done it,” Bloom said to MassLive. “I talked to him personally about that and what he told me was that it really came down to two things. One, he didn’t realize that his words would be hurtful and he didn’t want to hurt anybody and when he realized that they were, he took (the post) down.

“He also understood that it’s not the right use of his platform. He knows he made a mistake tweeting that. That’s why he took it down. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that we endorse anything he said or anything he believes. But the fact of the matter is, if we’re committed to creating an (inclusive) environment, it’s not right for us to police what people believe.

“We do need to expect that everybody here is going to be committed to creating an inclusive and safe environment and so understanding why he had taken the tweet down and that his words were hurtful, and knowing that he doesn’t want to hurt anybody and that he believes in a safe environment, was important here.”

Some fans were still unhappy with the team’s decision to start Dermody in the game, calling him up from the minors for his first start of the year.

He ended up taking the loss to the Guardians, pitching four innings and giving up three runs, all of which came on two home runs by Jose Ramirez.

After the game, Dermody spoke to the media about the tweet.

“I do regret the tweet in the sense that it came out hurtful and it hurt a lot of people,” he said, according to the Boston Globe. “That’s the last thing I want to do is hurt people. A lot of people think that I’m against a certain group of people or whatnot. But I’m for everybody making it to heaven.”

The Red Sox also released a statement to MassLive, which said, in part: “Matt, along with all our minor leaguers, went through our mandatory anti-discrimination and harassment prevention training in March. We cannot dictate the religious beliefs or political views of our players and employees, but we do require they treat people in our organization and ballpark with respect and professionalism.”

Boston designated Dermody for assignment after the game was over.

Really nice move by Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox by calling up Matt Dermody for a spot start, who not only has off the field issues, but also on the field issues with being flat out awful at his job.

You mean to tell me there was no one else in AAA?? pic.twitter.com/p2HCozwifM

— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) June 9, 2023

The timing for the Red Sox was less than ideal, as June is Pride Month – and Major League Baseball has already dealt with a number of other controversies related to it.

The Dodgers scheduled, then canceled on, then rescheduled again a group called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a queer and trans group that uses religious imagery and mocks Catholicism to call attention to sexual intolerance.

A number of players spoke out against the Dodgers for scheduling them, citing their own Christian beliefs – including Clayton Kershaw and former Met Trevor Williams.

Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass also shared an Instagram post urging his followers to boycott Target and Bud Light for their pro-LGBTQ+ campaigns – and in another highly unpopular move, the team decided to have Bass throw out the first pitch on their Pride Night.

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