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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.