Bass to catch Blue Jays' ceremonial first pitch on Pride Weekend: report
Anthony Bass will catch the ceremonial pitch to kick off the Toronto Blue Jays’ annual Pride Weekend on Friday.
This decision has been met with plenty of scrutiny, as Bass was the centre of controversy less than two weeks ago after sharing a post on Instagram supporting the boycott of Bud Light and Target.
The boycott of Bud Light was due to its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, while Target’s was due to its recent launch of Pride-themed apparel in their stores, which is included in children’s sections.
Though Bass has apologized and says he has a better understanding of the challenges the 2SLGBTQ+ community faces, he doesn’t seem to have changed his point of view.
“My focus should be on doing my job and being accepting of everyone’s decisions and views in life,” Bass said. “Through this process, moving forward, I’ll definitely know better than to post my personal beliefs on my social media platforms.”
Shortly after sharing the video, Bass deleted it from his Instagram account. It seems that the 35-year-old did so to help avoid a media circus for him and his teammates.
“The video itself, I took it down,” Bass explained. “I felt like it was too much of a distraction. I stand by my personal beliefs and everyone is entitled to their personal beliefs, right? But I also mean no harm to any groups of people.”
Bass also went on to say that while he understands that he has upset many, he doesn’t view the video as being hateful.
“I do not. That’s why I posted it originally,” said Bass. “When I look back at it, I can see how people would view it that way and that’s why I was apologetic.”
As a result of the ongoing saga, Bass volunteered to catch the ceremonial first pitch prior to Friday’s game versus the Minnesota Twins. Many are expecting the overall reception to be similar to his first appearance after sharing the post, which featured plenty of boos.