The Boston Red Sox are taking another look at the status of pitcher Matt Dermody after finding more insensitive social media posts from him. Dermody made his first start with the Red Sox on June 8 after sitting down with chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to discuss now-deleted homophobic tweets from 2021, but the team has since discovered more troubling posts.
Following his talk with Dermody earlier in June, Bloom felt comfortable keeping him in the organization and calling him up for the start. However, that sentiment may have changed, according to an interview Bloom did with the Boston Globe.
Bloom said the Red Sox missed more controversial posts from Dermody when they initially looked into his social media activity.
“We pride ourselves on doing the right due diligence so that we can have the right conversations around these things,” Bloom told the Boston Globe. “We realized as this was unfolding [after the callup] that a process that is normally pretty robust missed some things. There were other concerning things on social media. We usually don’t miss these types of things. In this case we did.”
As a result of the team’s most recent findings, Bloom said the Red Sox are looking at the best ways to address the situation.
“We’re getting our arms around what the right steps are with respect to the new info, or at least the info that’s new to us,” Bloom said. “That’s obviously a process that we’ll need to go through to figure out the best way to address it and take it into account. We certainly take it very seriously.”
After allowing four hits and three earned runs in four innings against the Guardians, Dermody was promptly designated for assignment after the game. He has since been assigned to the Red Sox’s Triple-A affiliate in Worcester.
The drama surrounding Dermody began because of a tweet he sent with playing for the Seibu Lions of the Japan Pacific League. In June of 2021, he posted a tweet denouncing homosexuality as a sin according to his Christian faith. Dermody later deleted the tweet, which is why the Red Sox didn’t see it prior to signing Dermody in January.
Dermody’s 2021 tweet read: “#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. That is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us, and repent for our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”
Following Dermody’s call-up, Bloom spoke to Mass Live about the tweet and the discussion he had with Dermody. Bloom said it was “important” that Dermody had taken the post down, and he added that the organization strives to create an “inclusive environment for everyone.”
“It’s important to us that he had taken the tweet down and important why he had done it. I talked to him personally about that and what he told me was that it really came down to two things. One, he didn’t realize that his words would be hurtful and he didn’t want to hurt anybody and when he realized that they were, he took (the post) down.”
“He also understood that it’s not the right use of his platform. He knows he made a mistake tweeting that. That’s why he took it down. Obviously, that doesn’t mean that we endorse anything he said or anything he believes. But the fact of the matter is, if we’re committed to creating an (inclusive) environment, it’s not right for us to police what people believe.”
“We do need to expect that everybody here is going to be committed to creating an inclusive and safe environment and so understanding why he had taken the tweet down and that his words were hurtful, and knowing that he doesn’t want to hurt anybody and that he believes in a safe environment, was important here.”
Dermody’s promotion came in the midst of Pride Month and just shy of two years since he sent the original tweet. It was his first MLB appearance since August of last year, when he pitched an inning for the Chicago Cubs.
In nine appearances with the Worcester Red Sox this season, Dermody has posted a 4.50 ERA, a 1.341 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts.
