Steve Clevenger just struck out in a big way.
The Seattle Mariners back up catcher has been suspended for the remainder of the season after he posted a series of since-deleted tweets about the Charlotte protesters that were deemed racist by many.
The #Mariners have announced that catcher Steve Clevenger has been suspended without pay for the remainder of the season.
– MarinersPR (@MarinersPR) September 23, 2016
“Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black officer haha s— cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the anthem!” Clevenger tweeted, per USA Today.
Unfortunately, he didn’t stop there. “BLM (Black Lives Matter) is pathetic again! Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone should be locked behind bars like animals!”
Clevenger eventually issued a statement apologizing for the tweets, saying that he is saddened that anyone would think that he is racist.
“Any former teammate or anyone who has met me can attest to this and I pride myself on not being a judgemental person,” the statement read in part. “I just ask that the public not judge me because of an ill worded tweet.
Protests have raged in Charlotte over the killing of Keith Lamont Scott, a black man who was killed by police on Tuesday. Scott’s family says he was unarmed and also had brain damage. Police claim that he was holding a gun and refused to drop it.