Jays' Anthony Santander stays quiet after team asks him to publicly address anti-Muslim social media posts

Detailed summary

The Toronto Blue Jays have asked Anthony Santander to publicly address the controversy sparked by his decision to share anti-Muslim posts on social media. So far, the veteran…

The Toronto Blue Jays have asked Anthony Santander to publicly address the controversy sparked by his decision to share anti-Muslim posts on social media. So far, the veteran outfielder has remained quiet and hasn't issued an apology.

Barring a statement or player availability, the storyline — now in its second week — could very well extend into spring training next year.

In the meantime, a franchise that prides itself on inclusiveness has been criticized for not taking firm action, while the player appears disengaged after upsetting many team supporters and the Muslim community.

"In situations like these, the apology for some stakeholders wouldn't be good enough, but at least it's something," said Mike Naraine, a sport management associate professor at Brock University.

Santander shared posts in the aftermath of the U.S. midterm elections last week before deleting them two days later.

The videos included a Christian preacher saying, “There is no such thing as kind Muslims,” with another suggesting Sharia law would be imposed on the U.S. after Abdul El-Sayed was elected to the Senate in Michigan.

The Blue Jays provided a general statement last week and general manager Ross Atkins was asked about the controversy by reporters on Tuesday at Major League Baseball's GM meetings in Las Vegas.

"There really aren't words to express my level of disappointment," said Atkins, who added he talked to Santander and told him he should address things publicly.

Messages left with Santander and his sports management agency on Wednesday weren't immediately returned.

Opening of the article, excerpted from CBC News. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.