Toronto Blue Jays send Anthony Bass packing after anti-LGBTQ2S+ controversy
Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass was demoted from the team’s roster on Friday afternoon after sharing an anti-LGBTQ2S+ video.
The roster move comes a day after Bass said he stands by his “personal beliefs” just over a week after apologizing for sharing an Instagram story encouraging followers to boycott Target and Bud Light over the support they showed for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Starting pitcher RHP Mitch White was reinstated after a right elbow injury, the Jays announced in a release on Friday.
“To make room on the 40-man roster, RHP Anthony Bass has been designated for assignment,” the team said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday night, Bass said, “Everyone is entitled to their personal beliefs, right? But also, I mean no harm towards any groups of people.”
“I felt like taking that down a second time was the right thing to do and not be a distraction to this team. Our job is to win baseball games and that’s my focus,” Bass said.
Bass was scheduled to catch the ceremonial first pitch at the Jay’s Pride Night on Friday but that has since been cancelled.
When a reporter asked the pitcher if he thought the video he shared was hateful, he responded, “I do not.”
“That's why I posted it originally. When I look back at it, I can see how people would view it that way and that's why I was apologetic," he said.
On Thursday, Bass met with Pride Toronto's executive director to “unpack” his views and reach a “better place moving forward.”
"I think it is a good second step but it is not the end of the journey," Pride Toronto’s Sherwin Modeste said after the meeting. "I see this as a continuation of learning and this was something that we agreed on."
The week earlier, Bass told reporters he was “truly sorry” in a brief apology acknowledging the post he shared was “hurtful to the Pride community.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.