TSN radio host Matthew Ross apologized to Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk after commenting on Twitter calling the player’s run to home plate “embarrassing.”
Ross’ show, the Weekend Game Plan on TSN 690, posted his apology on its Facebook page on Sunday. Bell Media is the parent company of TSN and CTV News.
“I want to offer my sincere apologies to Alejandro Kirk, Alek Manoah, the Toronto Blue Jays, Jays fans and anyone else who was offended by my initial tweet,” he said.
“The words were harsh. The mood was inappropriate and I deeply regret it. Period.”
Last week, the Blue Jays’ Twitter account posted a clip of Kirk running from first to home plate during a game in which the Jays would take home the win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ross tweeted in response to the video, saying: “It’s cute and all but it’s also embarrassing for the sport. Giving guys such prominence feeds negative stereotypes.”
Pitcher Alek Manoah came to Kirk’s defense, tweet: “What’s really embarrassing for the sport is people who go by the name Matthew and have never played a day in the big leagues because they think they can control the narrative and stereotypes. Go ahead and tell this 8-year-old who is 10 pounds overweight to stop now.
In his apology, Ross said he thought the original tweet with the video of Kirk running the bases was posted to poke fun at the game.
“I ineloquently tweeted what I did because I thought the clip would lead to more jokes about the sport. That was it. It was never about anything else,” he said.
Calling Manoah a great friend for defending his teammate, Ross said he had no intention of offending people who struggle with body image issues with his comments.
“As someone who has experienced the horror of bullying and seen people close to me going through very painful physical struggles, it broke my heart that anyone could mistake me for this monster,” he said.
“I’ve been clumsy and reckless in my sports commentary, defaming people for their looks is not what my heart or intention was at the moment – or ever!”