Q Toon: Beanball

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader has been very impressive this year: so much so that he made it onto the National League All-Star team in July. Uncharacteristically, in his eighth inning appearance in the All-Star game, he gave up four hits, including a three-run home run.

And that was the good news.

During the game, someone was publicizing disgusting homophobic and racist tweets Hader had tweeted in 2011 when he was 17 years old.

Many of the tweets are from late 2011 and early 2012, shortly before the Baltimore Orioles selected Hader in the amateur draft. The then-17-year-old – who currently tweets under the moniker “Josh Haderade” – used the n-word repeatedly in reference to himself and others. “I don’t give a damn, i’m a triply n—er, f⸺ my lungs, f⸺ my liver!” Hader tweeted on October 25, 2011. That same month, Hader wrote, “hahahahahah to [sic] bad i’m grounded n—er can’t do shit.” But the racism didn’t stop with the n-word; over the course of five months, Hader tweeted a reference to the “KKK,” a white fist emoji alongside “white power lol” and, in response to someone who tweeted “i hate all the black people,” Hader wrote, “lmao i tried to tell her about em she just laugh at me.”
Hader also tweeted an assortment of homophobic and sexist comments, from “I hate gay people” and “gay people freak me out,” to “Need a bitch who can f⸺, cook, and clean right.” 

As the resurrected tweets spread through the stands, Hader fans were seen turning their jerseys inside out, and even his family switched to attire without his name on it. A chastened Hader told reporters after the game that he regretted and disavowed his youthful indiscretion, and would accept whatever sanction Major League Baseball, the Brewers, and the fans would impose on him.

That turned out to be some required sensitivity training, and, from the fans, a standing ovation at his next home mound appearance.

That ovation shocked many around the sports world, and not just a few at home. Milwaukee Seventh District Alderman Khalif Rainey issued a strongly worded condemnation:

"What occurred during Josh Hader’s first appearance since those tweets surfaced is most troubling. Thousands of fans gave the pitcher a standing ovation. This frankly is an embarrassment to the world. The boisterous manner of standing to show support for Hader is nothing less than a dismissive stance against problems of race affecting an entire community: a community dealing with the effects of hypersegregation, economic disparity and police harassment.
The act of crowd members rising to their feet to cheer Hader ignores these very issues that NFL players seek to highlight while kneeling in silent protest during the national anthem. I am deeply concerned that President Trump continues to castigate those football players, recently recommending suspension for those who do not stand “at attention, hand on heart.” Although it seems cynical, I cannot help but think it comes down to skin color."

Retired football player Shannon Sharpe was more succinct:

"Kneel against injustice, get booed. Tweet racial, homophobic slurs, get standing O. Huh"

Hader was roundly booed the first time he took the pitcher's mound at an away game, July 26 in San Francisco. By chance, that is where Colin Kaepernick had been playing when he began his protest against questionable police killings of Black citizens. The quarterback, however, received as much pushback from hometown fans as he did at away games. I have seen no reports of Brewers fans burning their Hader jerseys.

He may be safe at home, but Mr. Hader should probably expect his teenage hubris to be called out at every away game for the rest of the season.