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Happy Pride, y'all! And what better way to start the celebration than by promoting an outwardly and unapologetically homophobic pitcher less than a week before Pride Night at your ballpark?
The Boston Red Sox organization did just that and defended their decision—for a day anyway.
Pitcher Matt Dermody was brought up from the Worcester Red Sox to pitch against the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday despite the fact he openly tweeted an anti-LGBTQ+ message tagged for Pride Month in 2021.
The now-deleted post said:
“#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God."
"They will go to hell. This 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 of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!"
But guys, he's "not a homophobic."
\u201c@gus_cousins Gus, you should look up to Jesus. He was perfect! And he leads to heaven. I am not a homophobic. As I stated in my tweet, I have love for all. The truth is love.\u201d— Gus Cousins (@Gus Cousins) 1624708191
The Red Sox chose to start Dermody, anyway, claiming they were at first unaware of the tweet and—after speaking with the newly-promoted pitcher amidst the exposed controversy—Dermody "didn’t realize that his words would be hurtful."
Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom added:
"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."
\u201cThe Red Sox are aware of a homophobic tweet from Thurs. starter Matt Dermody and met with him to discuss it during spring training."He knows he made a mistake tweeting that... That doesn\u2019t mean that we endorse anything he said or anything he believes." https://t.co/7cuLxY3OXf\u201d— Sean McAdam (@Sean McAdam) 1686196203
But fans weren't having the excuses and shared their dismay Dermody was a member of the Red Sox in the first place.
\u201c@Sean_McAdam Cut him. Get him off the team.\u201d— Sean McAdam (@Sean McAdam) 1686196203
\u201c@Sean_McAdam @BrianTRobb Player: Has a history of homophobia\n\nRed Sox: Let's sign him and give him his first Major League start during Pride Month!\u201d— Sean McAdam (@Sean McAdam) 1686196203
\u201c@Sean_McAdam I\u2019d rather watch the Sox lose 27-1 than see him throw a single pitch in a Red Sox uniform. Boy bye\u201d— Sean McAdam (@Sean McAdam) 1686196203
\u201c@Sean_McAdam Yet another reason not to follow this organization, as if there were plenty already.\u201d— Sean McAdam (@Sean McAdam) 1686196203
\u201c@Sean_McAdam Seriously @RedSox cut this guy immediately. Really bad look here.\u201d— Sean McAdam (@Sean McAdam) 1686196203
\u201c@Sean_McAdam Nothing says Pride Month better than promoting a homophobic Christian nationalist.\u201d— Sean McAdam (@Sean McAdam) 1686196203
\u201c@Sean_McAdam @ByMarkDaniels "...he didn\u2019t realize that his words would be hurtful."\n\nPro tip: When you are of clear mind and take the time to write that an individual or group of people are going to Hell that's as hurtful as it gets.\u201d— Sean McAdam (@Sean McAdam) 1686196203
\u201cGood luck tonight @Matt_Dermody\u201d— Hunter Noll (@Hunter Noll) 1686240918
\u201cI\u2019ve been a Red Sox fan for as long as I can remember but I hope they get crushed tonight with homophobe Matt Dermody on the mound. With all that mediocre talent in their system, Chaim Bloom couldn\u2019t find a less-awful human being to pitch against Cleveland?\u201d— Rich Kimball (@Rich Kimball) 1686225831
\u201cPretty hard to believe that the Red Sox are going to actually trot Matt Dermody out there given his vile and hateful past. No excuses for it. \n\nIt\u2019s the first time that I can remember that I sincerely hope a Red Sox player fails at the major league level.\u201d— Red Sox Watcher (@Red Sox Watcher) 1686222943
And while the Red Sox were "unaware" of Dermody's tweet because it was deleted, a quick search—according to one Twitter user—had people questioning if they hired the right person to conduct background checks.
\u201c@craigcalcaterra It took 5 minutes to find tweets he liked in the last two years, advocating hitting children, calling for Fauchi to be hung, saying it\u2019s ok to love Nazi\u2019s, and disparaging trans people as child groomers. Surely they could find someone else with -0.1 career WAR to start. @RedSox\u201d— Craig Calcaterra (@Craig Calcaterra) 1686222539
Yikes.
Dermody's career as a Boston Red Sox pitcher lasted about six hours as he was DFA'd after the game and outrighted back to Worcester.
The 32-year-old Dermody played in the Majors for the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago Cubs beforebeing picked up by Boston. Dermody also played in Japan and Korea.
It remains unclear if the decision to drop Dermody from the 40 man MLB roster was made due to the backlash over his Twitter history or as a result of his dismal performance on the mound. Dermody gave up three runs off four hits plus one walk over the span of only four innings—after which he was yanked from the game—during Boston's 10-3 loss against Cleveland.