During the All-Star Game Tuesday night, old tweets by Milwaukee Brewers reliever Josh Hader resurfaced online, causing a stir with fans and even some teammates. After the game, Hader addressed the controversy, apologizing for the “inexcusable” tweets, which he said he posted seven years ago when he was an “immature” 17-year-old.
Hader said he was first told about the resurfaced tweets — which contained homophobic and racist comments, including “I hate gay people” and at least one tweet with the N-word — when he came out of the game Tuesday night. He quickly locked his account and deleted the old posts. He also had a conversation with his teammate Lorenzo Cain, who approached him about the tweets.
After the game, Hader addressed the firestorm. “It’s something that happened when I was 17-years-old,” he said, “I was immature and obviously said some things that were inexcusable. That doesn’t reflect on who I am as a person today.”
“I’m deeply sorry for what I’ve said and what’s been going on,” said Hader. Asked if was worried about any possible discipline from the league, Hader said, “I’m ready for any consequences that happen for what happened seven years ago.”
Hader also tweeted that he thinks some of what he posted back in 2011 and 2012 contained some “rap lyrics.”
Cain likewise addressed the controversy with the media, explaining that he had just asked Hader about the tweets and making clear he doesn’t hold the old posts against Hader now.
“That’s one reason I don’t have social media. … You always get in trouble for things you said when you were younger,” said Cain, adding that he planned to “move on from it” and describing Hader as a “great guy” and a “great teammate.”
“We’ve all said crazy stuff growing up, even when we’re 17, 18 years old,” he said. “If we could follow each other around with a recorder every day, I’m sure we all said some dumb stuff. Basically, we’re going to move on from this.”
CBS News reports that Deputy Commissioner Dan Halem said he had spoken with Hader and the league would offer no official comment until Wednesday.
Fox News notes that some of Hader’s own family members reportedly “swapped their replica All-Star jerseys of Hader with generic jerseys that no longer contained his name on the back.”
Fox also highlights some of the reaction online, including this footage circulating on social media: