During the eighth inning of last night's MLB All-Star Game, Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader gave up a three-run home run to Seattle Mariners shortstop Jean Segura, which gave the American League a 5-2 lead en route to their 8-6 10th inning victory. But that's not the reason why Hader's name has been going viral.
By the time the left-handed pitcher got back to the dugout after giving up the pivotal home run, some of his old racist and homophobic tweets had been exposed, including those that read, "White power lol," "KKK," and “I hate gay people.” Many of the tweets in question are from 2011 and 2012, some of which came just months before he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles at the age of 18.
According to ESPN, Hader, now 24, apologized for the tweets after the game.
"You know, it was something that happened when I was 17 years old," he said. "As a child, I was immature, and I obviously said some things that were inexcusable. That doesn't reflect on who I am as a person today, and that's just what it is."
"Obviously, when you're a kid, you just tweet what's on your mind, and you know, that's what's on," he said
"Just came in, and my phone was blowing up," he said. "You can't, there's no excuse for what was said. I'm deeply sorry for what I've said and what's been going on, and like I said, it doesn't reflect any of my beliefs going on now."
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Furthermore, Hader turned to his teammate, and fellow All-Star, Lorenzo Cain, who is African-American. Cain told reporters, "We just talked a little bit. I was just trying to understand the situation," Cain said. "He was young. We all say some crazy stuff when we're young. That's one reason why I don't have social media -- for things like this. You always in trouble for things you said when you're younger. So we move on from it. The situation is what it is. I know Hader, I know he's a great guy, he's a great teammate. So I'm fine. Everybody will be OK. We'll move on from it, for sure."
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