Brewers reliever Josh Hader made his first appearance in Milwaukee Saturday since racist, misogynistic and homophobic tweets he made as a teenager were unearthed last week.
He received a standing ovation.
Brewers Josh Hader gets standing ovation from fans in Miller Park #LADvsMIL pic.twitter.com/oz10XWeqjt
— AwesomeSauce (@Just1nMKE) July 22, 2018On Friday, Hader, 24, apologized for the offensive tweets, which he wrote when he was 17 years old. His teammates stood behind him, showing their support.
"They weren't meaningful to me," Hader told reporters, per the Washington Post. "That's not my beliefs at all."
"This isn't me. I hope that from people I've touched and come across, they know who I truly am. I made mistakes. I'm not perfect. I've grown as a person. Baseball really helped me grow." -Josh Hader pic.twitter.com/IHcUVCr2rZ
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 21, 2018This was an amazing scene of support from teammates as Josh Hader addresses the media. pic.twitter.com/17uTtkTKeA
— Brian Anderson (@BAndersonPxP) July 20, 2018The tweets were publicized Tuesday, when Hader entered to pitch in his first All-Star Game. In them, Hader references "white power," demeans women and states his apparent hatred for gay people. MLB has ordered Hader to attend sensitivity training. After his appearance in the All-Star Game, his family members were seen removing shirts and jerseys with his name on the back and turning them inside out.
The strong display of solidarity among Hader's teammates goes a long way towards showing his words are sincere. Ignorant tweets he made as a 17 year old shouldn't be held against him, as long as he shows he's evolved.
But the question remains, what exactly were Brewers fans cheering?
Related content:
Brewers pitcher Josh Hader apologizes for racist tweets surfaced during All-Star Game
