The Blue Jays began their Pride Weekend celebrations early on Friday, designating middle reliever and homophobic dipshit Anthony Bass for assignment ahead of their three-game series with the Minnesota Twins. The organization does not deserve any credit for this move, as their initial Pride Weekend plan involved Bass catching the ceremonial first pitch from Toronto activist leZlie Lee Kam.
Up until today, the Jays seemed set on shoving Bass and his ugly feelings about queer people through the Listening And Learning Rehabilitation Protocols as quickly as possible. On Thursday, Jays GM Ross Atkins floated the idea that Bass, just over a week removed from having to publicly apologize for sharing a homophobic video on his Instagram page, had suddenly become enlightened on the issue of whether queer people should be allowed to exist.
Atkins must have been envisioning Bass's participation in Friday's ceremonial first pitch as a heartwarming symbol of his player's growth. That vision probably faded away rather quickly when Bass opened his mouth yesterday. Bass half-apologized for "any harm I made towards the Pride community," though he also reiterated, "I stand by my personal beliefs and everyone’s entitled to their personal beliefs, right?" When asked directly if he understood why fans were offended by him, he showed that he did not know or care by saying, "I guess not being sensitive to obviously what that community goes through. Especially when they make such a big decision with their life."
Those comments, along with the fact that Bass is not anyone's idea of an important player, were enough to get him sent down today. It's been a whirlwind few weeks for Bass, who began the season as an anonymous bullpen arm, revealed himself as a jerkoff and homophobe, became reviled by his own fans, and then lost his spot on the big-league roster. Anyway, goodbye bozo, happy Pride.