Just weeks after Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader's racist and homophobic tweets were exposed, two more MLB players have suffered the same fate. On Sunday, several tweets from Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb and Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner resurfaced.
Newcomb came one-batter short of completing a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday, which is when a Nats fan account drew attention to the left-hander's tweets. The posts in question date back to when Newcomb was an 18-year-old in 2011 and 2012.
"I just wanted to apologize for any insensitive material," Newcomb said, per ESPN. "It was a long time ago, six or seven years ago, saying some stupid stuff with friends.
"I know I've grown a lot since then. I didn't mean anything by it. It was just something stupid I did a long time ago, and I didn't mean anything by it, for sure."
Trae Turner's tweets from 2011 and 2012 were also exposed and they included a gay slur, anti-gay comments and a joke with racist undertones. One of Turner's tweets that drew criticism reads, "Once u go black, u gonna need a wheelchair," which is actually a line from the movie White Chicks.
On Sunday night, Turner issued a statement about the matter.
"There are no excuses for my insensitive and offensive language on Twitter," Turner, now 25, said, according to ESPN. "I am sincerely sorry for those tweets and apologize wholeheartedly. I believe people who know me understand those regrettable actions do not reflect my values or who I am. But I understand the hurtful nature of such language and am sorry to have brought any negative light to the Nationals organization, myself or the game I love."