Seattle's back-up catcher job maybe opening up

[gunnarthor]

http://www.lookoutlanding.com/2016/9/22/13023742/steve-clevenger-tweeted-like-an-idiot

 

As a general rule, players as bad as Clevenger shouldn't attract attention to themselves for off the field stupidity but he did.

 

From the article, "backup catcher Steve Clevenger, who is by most accounts a bad baseball player, who was already arguably Jerry Dipoto’s worst trade prior to using Twitter to say breathtakingly insensitive things about complex, difficult subjects his no doubt extremely small, ignorant brain grasps about as well as a three-week old comprehends shapes, decided to tweet:"  (It was something dumb).

 

The Mariners are currently considering their options. 

[ashbury]

Gonna be some cold looks in the clubhouse for the rest of the season.

[Winston Smith]

Sounds like a nattering nabob of negativism.

[Vanimal46]

He sounds like he'd be delightful to run into at a party. 

[Mike Sixel]

I bet he's part of a large plurality of athletes....

[gunnarthor]

 

I bet he's part of a large plurality of athletes....

Oh, yeah.  Definitely.  But most are smart enough not to post muck like that.  

[nicksaviking]

 

I bet he's part of a large plurality of athletes....

 

Most of which are smart enough to not to out themselves to their diverse group of teammates and publicly state a poorly worded opinion that they know will bring headaches to their employers.

[Mr. Brooks]

I bet he's part of a large plurality of athletes....

You are likely right.

I couldn't believe how many athletes supported Adrian Peterson when he beat a 4 year old bloody with a stick.

And, even of those that didn't defend him, I don't recall many, if any, calling him out for it.

 

For whatever reason, it seems, athletes have a different mindset.

[Craig Arko]

Maybe Suzuki flies out with them at the end of the series.

[gunnarthor]

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/17619162/seattle-mariners-suspend-steve-clevenger-inappropriate-tweets

 

Suspended for remainder of season without pay - roughly 34k.

[nicksaviking]

 

You are likely right.
I couldn't believe how many athletes supported Adrian Peterson when he beat a 4 year old bloody with a stick.
And, even of those that didn't defend him, I don't recall many, if any, calling him out for it.

For whatever reason, it seems, athletes have a different mindset.

 

I think it probably has to do with the fact that professional athletes come from all corners of the country while the residents of the locality tend to have more uniform customs and values. It's quite possible a Minnesotan player, say Glen Perkins, would have been less supportive.

 

Those that didn't defend him but didn't speak out probably are just like the rest of us. Few people want to cause an uncomfortable work environment.

[biggentleben]

Scary thing is...that's who Seattle got this offseason in exchange for Mark Trumbo, you know, the guy leading the major leagues in home runs? Yeah...

[Mr. Brooks]

I think it probably has to do with the fact that professional athletes come from all corners of the country while the residents of the locality tend to have more uniform customs and values. It's quite possible a Minnesotan player, say Glen Perkins, would have been less supportive.

 

Those that didn't defend him but didn't speak out probably are probably just like the rest of us. Few people want to cause an uncomfortable work environment.

Maybe, but there are some things so despicable that I would hope everyone, no matter what profession you are in, would have the backbone to speak up against.

If a guy I work with has an annoying but harmless habit, then yeah, probably best to bite my tongue and not stir the pot.

If they are beating preschoolers with a stick though, that's not something you look the other way at.

[Mike Sixel]

 

Maybe, but there are some things so despicable that I would hope everyone, no matter what profession you are in, would have the backbone to speak up against.
If a guy I work with has an annoying but harmless habit, then yeah, probably best to bite my tongue and not stir the pot.
If they are beating preschoolers with a stick though, that's not something you look the other way at.

 

it's the fans too.....sigh.

[nicksaviking]

 

Maybe, but there are some things so despicable that I would hope everyone, no matter what profession you are in, would have the backbone to speak up against.
If a guy I work with has an annoying but harmless habit, then yeah, probably best to bite my tongue and not stir the pot.
If they are beating preschoolers with a stick though, that's not something you look the other way at.

 

Right, but you don't take it up directly with your co-worker, you call the police and it's the authorities that handle it. You don't have any obligation to spill your guts to the media, in fact most major corporations have rules and training for employees about not discussing employee or company business in both traditional and social media.

 

[GMinTraining]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfNFlW13DOY

 

Skip Bayless speaks on issue with Shannon Sharp

 

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Right, but you don't take it up directly with your co-worker, you call the police and it's the authorities that handle it. You don't have any obligation to spill your guts to the media, in fact most major corporations have rules and training for employees about not discussing employee or company business in both traditional and social media.

We disagree then. To me a few things are despicable enough that they absolutely have to be called out. As vocally and publicly as possible.

Yes I do think there is a moral obligation to call out someone who crosses that line, especially if asked about it.

Answering something like, "OH Adrian is a great guy, he just made a mistake." Sorry that's not good enough for me.

Sorry to go on a tangent about old news, but if I learn a co worker of mine did that to a child, either they are leaving or I am. I'm not working with them. Some things are more important than a job or a paycheck.

[Willihammer]

More proof that the "racist" label has become so toxic that it completely shuts down any actual discussion.

Yes what Clevenger said was racist and boneheaded but my god; its also an incredibly common tone and viewpoint in America.

And the MLB reacts by suspending without pay? Hell AP got paid during his suspension. I guess being a child abuser is not as bad as being a boneheaded dope on twitter.

[Mr. Brooks]

More proof that the "racist" label has become so toxic that it completely shuts down any actual discussion.

Yes what Clevenger said was racist and boneheaded but my god; its also an incredibly common tone and viewpoint in America.

And the MLB reacts by suspending without pay? Hell AP got paid during his suspension. I guess being a child abuser is not as bad as being a boneheaded dope on twitter.

I don't know Willinghammer, these statements are not just bone headed. They are incredibly dangerous.

Freedom of speech is protection from government, not from your employer.

I think they absolutely made the right call.

Just because the Vikings are cowards doesn't mean every team has to follow their precedent, so I don't think that's a fair comparison.

[Willihammer]

 

I don't know Willinghammer, these statements are not just bone headed. They are incredibly dangerous.
Freedom of speech is protection from government, not from your employer.
I think they absolutely made the right call.
Just because the Vikings are cowards doesn't mean every team has to follow their precedent, so I don't think that's a fair comparison.

The danger is papering over racist thoughts with meaningless apologies like we do every time someone says something honest.

 

The video above is a perfect microcosm of this. What does Bayless do? Distances himself. Call him a racist (truly he called Riley Cooper a racist, but he was implying the same about Clevenger). He said "AGAIN I'm ashamed to share the same skin color as this man."

Give me a ****ing break. 

 

Shannon, in a long-winded and roundabout way, addresses the thought behind the text. He confronts it. At no point does he call Clevenger a racist. Black people don't throw that label around near as lightly as white people do. White folks who care about advancing racial causes really, really need to get on the same page and stop with the phony treating people who speak an honest racial thought like they're radioactive.

[Thrylos]

Mixed feelings here:

 

a. What he said is pretty disgusting and insensitive.  Any way you cut it, as far as I am concerned

b. Unfortunately this is a fairly common view in this country.  Heck, a particular presidential candidate has pretty much said the same (if not worse) in the campaign trail and still about 45% of Americans say that they will vote for him

c. Last time I checked this is the United States of America and even bigots have the right to speak their minds, no matter whether we agree or not, without loosing their jobs.

d. Expect the players union to sue for wrongful suspension (and likely win.)

[Mr. Brooks]

The danger is papering over racist thoughts with meaningless apologies like we do every time someone says something honest.

 

The video above is a perfect microcosm of this. What does Bayless do? Distances himself. Call him a racist (truly he called Riley Cooper a racist, but he was implying the same about Clevenger). He said "AGAIN I'm ashamed to share the same skin color as this man."

Give me a ****ing break.

 

Shannon, in a long-winded and roundabout way, addresses the thought behind the text. He confronts it. At no point does he call Clevenger a racist. Black people don't throw that label around near as lightly as white people do. White folks who care about advancing racial causes really, really need to get on the same page and stop with the phony treating people who speak an honest racial thought like they're radioactive.

Except Clevenger was making no attempt whatsoever at advancing any kind of discussion.

He was just tweeting out insults and dangerous rhetoric.

There is a big difference between what you are describing and what Clevenger actually did.

[Mr. Brooks]

Mixed feelings here:

 

a. What he said is pretty disgusting and insensitive. Any way you cut it, as far as I am concerned

b. Unfortunately this is a fairly common view in this country. Heck, a particular presidential candidate has pretty much said the same (if not worse) in the campaign trail and still about 45% of Americans say that they will vote for him

c. Last time I checked this is the United States of America and even bigots have the right to speak their minds, no matter whether we agree or not, without loosing their jobs.

d. Expect the players union to sue for wrongful suspension (and likely win.)

Freedom of speech is protection from the government. Nothing more. Unless the government is prosecuting him for his comments, then it has nothing to do with free speech.

[Willihammer]

 

Except Clevenger was making no attempt whatsoever at advancing any kind of discussion.
He was just tweeting out insults and dangerous rhetoric.
There is a big difference between what you are describing and what Clevenger actually did.

Those tweets are incredibly common though. Jesus, are you on facebook? That is like half of America. An opportunity was there to talk about the ignorance behind it instead of fleeing from it.

[Mr. Brooks]

Those tweets are incredibly common though. Jesus, are you on facebook? That is like half of America. An opportunity was there to talk about the ignorance behind it instead of fleeing from it.

No I'm not on any social media, precisely because of the complete cesspool it can be.

The Mariners suspending him does not eliminate any opportunity to discuss it.

I guess I don't understand how the Mariners can be criticized for this.

If I had an employee saying stuff like this, especially on such a public podium, I'd likely react the same way.

[Bark's Lounge]

The only thing I have to say about this Clevenger situation is that it is disgusting. Peterson's deal is also grotesque, since it was brought up.

 

The intellectual and common sense core of our country is at ground zero.

 

Hate and violence has now become a strong value to what I guess to say is 50% of this country.

 

This has been an awful year.

[Willihammer]

 

No I'm not on any social media, precisely because of the complete cesspool it can be.
The Mariners suspending him does not eliminate any opportunity to discuss it.
I guess I don't understand how the Mariners can be criticized for this.
If I had an employee saying stuff like this, especially on such a public podium, I'd likely react the same way.

Suspend without pay? Do you know how many followers he has? Not even 3000. Its not proportional at all.

[Mr. Brooks]

Suspend without pay? Do you know how many followers he has? Not even 3000. Its not proportional at all.

I don't really care how many followers he has.

Even if an employee said this just to me with nobody else around I'd probably fire them.

I'd be horrified to have someone so hateful represent my company.

It takes a scary amount of hatred to say stuff like this.

[Bark's Lounge]

 

Suspend without pay? Do you know how many followers he has? Not even 3000. Its not proportional at all.

He called the protesters animals, and decided to include Obama into that term. What the hell does Obama have to do with it?

 

It shakes out only one way to me... racist. It is 2016, not 1955. This crap needs to stop.

 

I hope that prick never plays a profession baseball game again.

[Mr. Brooks]

I hope I never become desensitized to comments like this. That is why I stay off social media.

Not proportional? The guy got suspended, that's a drop in the bucket compared to actual issues that he's ignorant of.

Millions of people would love to have a suspension from a millionaire job be their biggest worry.