It’s never a good look when the home crowd turns on one of its players.
Toronto Blue Jays reliever Anthony Bass was greeted with deafening boos at Rogers Centre on Wednesday, two days after he endorsed what appeared to be an anti-LGBTQ+ video on his Instagram Story.
The near sold-out crowd at the SkyDome (42,205) let Bass have it as he left the bullpen and ran to the mound — with loud boos drowning out his walk-out music and the television broadcast.
Toronto’s landmark CN tower lit up in Pride colors when the right-hander came to pitch in the ninth inning, according to a video on Twitter.
The 35-year-old Bass was booed throughout most of the half-inning he occupied the mound, but didn’t appear to let the crowd reaction shake his performance.
Bass gave up a walk before a Joey Wiemer pop-up, and struck out Christian Yelich in the eventual 4-2 loss.
Anthony Bass entered Wednesday’s game to a chorus of boos from the Toronto crowd.Getty ImagesIt came after Bass apologized Tuesday for endorsing an Instagram video calling for religious boycotts of Target and Bud Light, which have been publicly supporting LGBTQ+ rights.
“I’ll make this quick,” Bass told reporters Tuesday. “I recognize yesterday that I made a post that was hurtful to the Pride community, which includes friends of mine and close family members of mine, and I am truly sorry for that.
“I just spoke with my teammates and shared with them my actions yesterday. I apologized (to) 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.”
Anthony Bass #52 of the Toronto Blue Jays makes a statement to the media before playing the Milwaukee Brewers in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on May 30, 2023 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Getty ImagesOn Tuesday, Blue Jays manager John Schneider said the team did not discuss any discipline for Bass.
In response to Bass’ post, a team spokesperson told Toronto’s CityNews the organization is proud to celebrate Pride Month and that “individual player sentiments are not representative of the club’s beliefs.”
The spokesperson also mentioned the team’s fourth annual Pride Weekend events at the ballpark June 9 and 10, adding that there will be “demonstrations of allyship all month long around the ballpark.”
Anthony Bass #52 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches in the fifth inning during the game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field on Saturday, May 27, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. MLB Photos via Getty ImagesBass made headlines for a social media incident earlier this season.
At the time, Bass took to Twitter claiming a United Airlines flight attendant made his pregnant wife, Sydney Rae Bass, “get on her hands and knees to pick up the popcorn mess” left by their youngest daughter, 2-year-old Blaire.
Bass added that United Airlines was handling the situation internally, and that he and his wife would not be commenting further.
Anthony Bass #52 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches in the seventh inning during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on May 22, 2023 in St Petersburg, Florida. Getty ImagesThe situation sparked a heated debate on social media, and Bass deleted his Twitter account in the aftermath.
Bass has appeared in 20 games this season for Toronto.
The Blue Jays beat the Brewers 3-1 on Thursday to close out a three-game series, after a 7-2 win on Tuesday.
Toronto kicks off a three-game series in Cincinnati on Friday.
