Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger is under fire after tweeting some strong thoughts against the Black Lives Matter movement Thursday afternoon.
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The tweets were deleted, but were screen grabbed by various users.
The tweets came after riots in North Carolina took over the city of Charlotte Tuesday and Wednesday. Controversy was sparked after the shooting of Keith Scott, a black man, in North Carolina.
The Mariners responded to the tweets Wednesday evening:
Statement from Jerry Dipoto, Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations on Tweets from catcher Steve Clevenger. pic.twitter.com/1xWk6dy5ap
— Seattle Mariners (@Mariners) September 23, 2016
Clevenger has also apologized, per the Baltimore Sun:
"I do believe that supporting our First Amendment rights and supporting local law enforcement are not mutually exclusive. With everything going on in the world I really just want what is best for everyone regardless of who they are. I like many Americans are frustrated by a lot of things in the world and I would like to be a part of the dialogue moving forward to make this a better world for everyone."
Colin Kaepernick and others across the NFL has taken a stand by kneeling during the national anthem. Kaepernick's protest stems from the oppression of black people:
"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," he said. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."
We'll continue to track this story as it develops.
