ATLANTA — Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb apologized again Monday for racist, homophobic and sexist tweets he sent as a teenager.
Less than 24 hours after coming within one strike of throwing a no-hitter, Newcomb faced the media inside SunTrust Park Monday afternoon.
Not surprisingly, no one was talking about Sunday’s game.
Instead, all of the questions surrounded tweets Newcomb sent several years ago, long before he was a member of the Atlanta Braves.
"I am very, very remorseful about it," Newcomb said in response to the series of homophobic and offensive tweets sent from his Twitter account.
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The Atlanta Braves immediately issued a statement Sunday night, saying:
"We are aware of the tweets that surfaced after today's game and have spoken to Sean, who is incredibly remorseful. Regardless of how long ago he posted them, he is aware of the insensitivity and is taking full responsibility. We find the tweets hurtful and incredibly disappointing and even though he was 18 or 19 years old when posted, it doesn't make them any less tolerable. We will work together with Sean towards mending the wounds created in our community.”
Newcomb said he doesn't think the tweets will cause fallout among current teammates.
"No, I don't think so," he said. "I think people that know me know that's not the kind of person I am. It's been a long time since then and at the same time I didn't mean anything by it."
"Such inappropriate comments have no place in our game. We are aware of this serious issue, Billy Bean will meet with Mr. Newcomb this week, and we will identify an appropriate course of diversity training for him in the Atlanta community," MLB said in a statement.
Bean is MLB's vice president for social responsibility and inclusion. He is a former big league outfielder who retired in 1995 and came out publicly in 1999.
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