Toronto Blue Jays Make Controversial Decision Ahead of Pride Weekend Festivities

The Toronto Blue Jays are celebrating the LGBTQ+ community over the weekend by hosting "Pride Weekend." The team has made a controversial decision to have reliever Anthony Bass catch the ceremonial first pitch on Friday night. Bass has been in hot water for sharing an anti-LGBTQ+ video recently.

The Toronto Blue Jays have made the controversial decision to have reliever Anthony Bass catch the ceremonial first pitch on Friday night, as part of the team's Pride Weekend celebrations.

Bass has been in hot water recently for sharing an anti-LGBTQ+ video on Instagram. He apologized for the video on May 30 and said the following, which is a portion of his comments:

"I just spoke with my teammates and shared with them my actions yesterday. I apologized with them and, as of right now, I am using the Blue Jays’ resources to better educate myself to make better decisions moving forward.

"The ballpark is for everybody. We include all fans at the ballpark, and we want to welcome everybody. That’s all I have to say."

As part of their upcoming Pride Weekend, the #BlueJays plan to have Anthony Bass catch the ceremonial first pitch on Friday.

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) June 8, 2023

The decision to have Bass be included in this manner is not sitting well with some on social media. Edmonton Oilers reporter Daniel Nugent-Bowman commented on the post on Twitter:

"There are bad ideas. And then there are terrible ideas."

There are bad ideas. And then there are terrible ideas. https://t.co/6cxQykb6jz

— Daniel Nugent-Bowman (@DNBsports) June 8, 2023

The 35-year-old Bass is in his 12th year in the major leagues. He's pitched for the Padres, Astros, Rangers, Cubs, Mariners, Marlins and Blue Jays. He's been with Toronto for two different tours: 2020 and 2022-2023.

He's a lifetime 16-28 pitcher with a 3.91 ERA. He has 15 career saves.

This year, he's 0-0 with a 4.95 ERA. He's thrown 20 innings and has struck out 19.

The Blue Jays play the Houston Astros on Thursday at 7:07 p.m. ET. Toronto enters play at 35-28 and in fourth place in the American League East.

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