New pitcher slated to start for Boston Red Sox amid controversy over deleted homophobic tweet

Pitcher Matt Dermody is reportedly slated to take the hill for the Boston Red Sox on Thursday amid controversy over a past homophobic tweet that recently surfaced.

Dermody, 32, who has spent the beginning months of the 2023 season pitching for the Worcester Red Sox, posted the tweet in 2021 before later deleting it. Screenshots of the tweet still exist online.

In the tweet on June 26, 2021, Dermody wrote, “#PrideMonth. Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. This 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 of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!”

The comments prompted an apology from the Saitama Seibu Lions, a professional team in Japan for whom Dermody was pitching for at the time.

According to longtime baseball reporter Sean McAdam, the Red Sox confronted Dermody about the tweet when management learned of it during this past spring training.

The team was unaware of the tweet when they signed Dermody to a minor league contract in January, Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told McAdam.

“It’s important to us that he had taken the tweet down and why he had done it,” Bloom said, per McAdam’s report. “I talked to him about that and he told me it really came down to two things.”

When asked about the tweet, Dermody reportedly told management that he “didn’t realize that his words would be hurtful and he didn’t want to hurt anybody. Dermody also said he “knew he made a mistake tweeting that” and that “it’s not the right use of his platform.”

According to McAdam, Bloom also acknowledged that the team “absolutely” thought about terminating Dermody’s contract, but “knowing that he doesn’t want to hurt anybody and that he believes in a safe environment, was important here.”

In a statement to Boston 25 News Red Sox President Sam Kennedy addressed the controversy citing the need for respect and professionalism.

“What Matt posted in 2021 was hurtful — and we addressed this with him when we learned about it after he joined the Red Sox in 2023. Matt, along with all our minor leaguers, went through our mandatory anti-discrimination and harassment prevention training in March. We cannot dictate the religious beliefs or political views of our players and employees, but we do require they treat people in our organization and ballpark with respect and professionalism,” Kennedy said.

So far in 2023 in Worcester, Dermody is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 47 strikeouts. In parts of four seasons in the majors, he is 2-0 over 29 appearances with a 5.60 ERA and 22 strikeouts.

While the Red Sox haven’t publicly named Dermody the starter for Thursday’s series finale with the Cleveland Guardians, sources confirmed to McAdam that he will pitch and that he has a locker in the clubhouse at Progressive Field.

Fenway Park will host its annual Pride Celebration on Tuesday, June 13.

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