The Red Sox released minor leaguer Brett Netzer on Saturday, hours after the 2017 third-round selection posted a series of social media messages expressing racist, homophobic, transphobic, and anti-Semitic sentiments, with several directed at Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom.
The team released Netzer after it confirmed the posts were his, rather than a hack of his accounts.
Netzer, 25, last played in 2019, posting a .247/.320/.357 line in 130 games at Double-A Portland. The minor-league season was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Netzer spent all of the 2021 season on the restricted list for undisclosed reasons.
not hacked. this is my new skateboarding helmet. havent started skating yet but figured it would be a dope thing to learn how to do pic.twitter.com/0oTEuricpD
— Brett Netzer (@BrettNetzer) February 26, 2022
Another Red Sox minor leaguer, Brendan Cellucci, took to Twitter to disavow Netzer’s comments.
“It’s safe to say Red Sox fans have been shocked by the comments of a former player. I don’t speak for the organization, however I will say that player’s comments don’t reflect the reputation and standard we uphold. Our organization promotes respect and love for all, period.”
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Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.
