On Sunday, Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb came within one strike of throwing a no-hitter. Losing the no-hitter was not the worst thing that happened to him that day.
After the game it came to light that Newcomb, 25, used racial and gay slurs on his Twitter account in 2011 and 2012. He was 18 at the time of the tweets.
Newcomb wasn't the only one Sunday having to explain past comments on Twitter. Nationals shortstop Trea Turner, 25, also had to apologize for homophobic and racially insensitive tweets from 2011 and 2012 when he was playing at North Carolina State.
This comes less than two weeks after it was discovered that Brewers All-Star reliever Josh Hader, 24, had sent out many tweets when he was 17 that used a racial slur, among other derogatory comments.
The three baseball players are just the latest athletes to have old tweets come back to haunt them. Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen and former Villanova basketball star Donte DiVincenzo also experienced this.
All followed pretty much the same pattern.
First, someone discovers and then publishes the old offensive tweets.
Second, the player apologizes, says it was a long time ago and expresses how they've changed and their past comments don't reflect who they are or what they believe.
Three, fans start making excuses and enabling the athletes for behavior that should not be excused or enabled.
Then the fans greet those players like heroes, like when Hader was given a standing ovation in Milwaukee in his first game after the incident.
That was nearly as offensive as what Hader wrote.
I'm not suggesting players should be kicked out of their sports, jailed, suspended or shunned for what they wrote on Twitter. And I don't necessarily think their comments should define who they are for the rest of their lives. I'm all for forgiveness (if earned) and using these moments as teaching examples to make the world a better place. And, to be fair, the players in question have apologized and taken responsibility for their words.
But we need to stop diminishing this as harmless comments from kids who didn't know any better and meant no harm.
Oh, they were just kids.
You didn't do stupid things as a kid?
I wish someone had a camera on you when you were a teenager.
That's the common refrain as fans try to find a way to excuse athletes from their favorite teams.
I've lost count of the number of times Bucs fans have try to explain the abhorrent behavior of Jameis Winston by saying everyone does dumb stuff when they're young.
No they don't! And it's time people stop saying that.
It's one thing to be silly and immature. It's another to be sinister and hateful.
We're not talking about driving a little too fast past curfew on a Friday night. We're not talking about throwing firecrackers too close to the house. That's the immature stuff kids do.
But this other junk?
A teenager is old enough to know that using the N-word is hurtful. A teenager is old enough to know that calling someone a homophobic name, even if they thought it was a joke among friends, is wrong. A teenager is old enough to know that when a female says no, she means no.
When we search for reasons to excuse this behavior or chalk it up youth or to boys being boys, we are essentially saying that kind of behavior is not all that serious. We are essentially saying it's OK.
But it's never OK.
Just because it's said by a 17-year-old instead of a 25-year-old doesn't make it any less offensive. Just because it was said several years ago doesn't mean it doesn't have repercussions today.
The incident between Winston and the Uber driver in March of 2016 happened when Winston was 22. You're telling me that 22 is not old enough to know that grabbing a woman you don't know in the crotch without her permission is wrong?
As far as the guys and their tweets, another embarrassing reaction has been from those who are blaming the people who are digging up these old tweets.
Let's not get this twisted. The only ones to blame are the ones who actually typed up the offensive words in those tweets.
Instead of making excuses, how about we all just admit this behavior and these tweets are wrong and then deal with it.
There's nothing wrong with pointing out the harm these players have caused. There's nothing wrong with a little public embarrassment. There's nothing wrong with using this public shame as a reminder to young people to think before you talk. Or tweet.
In fact, all of this is absolutely necessary if we want to teach everyone that your words and actions can cause damage.
No matter how old you are.
