Steve Clevinger - Professional Baseball Catcher

One of the major issues that can be found in every crevice of the United States nowadays is race relations. Race relations is the interaction between different races and how they treat and view each other, in this case how Americans interact with African Americans. One major area where race relations is prevalent is in the media, and in particular social media, where anyone is able to voice their opinions for the entire world to see. Analyzing the different reactions America has had based on multiple tweets made by a professional athlete regarding race relations truly reveals the big issue the country faces.

Steve Clevenger is a professional baseball catcher for the Seattle Mariners who has been a below average back up his entire career and according to Bob Nightingale the only reason he was even in the league still was because “backup catchers can last a decade or more in this game. Particularly those who bring intangible upside in their ability to mentor younger players, work well with pitchers or be a positive clubhouse presence” (Nightingale para 22). Clevenger has never been in the spotlight due to his poor performance in the league, but after some controversial tweets made a couple of weeks ago, the country has become well aware of this man. He has since deleted the tweets, but Mike Bates, writer for SB Nation has a copy of them and the worst one states that “BLM is pathetic once again! Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals!” (Bates, Para 1). Clevenger had more outrageous tweets similar to this one being openly racist towards African Americans which led to the suspension for the remainder of the season illustrating that racism is still prevalent at all levels of society. The different reactions stirred by these comments have exposed the divide this country is dealing with. Three different sides have emerged, all believing that the level of concern for these tweets are vastly different, leading to clashes across the nation on this sensitive topic.

The first side to reach the media about the Clevenger tweets were outraged Americans who were appalled at the racism expressed by a professional in, “America’s sport.” This group of Americans demanded consequences for a man who feels that African Americans belong in cages like animals. The Seattle Mariners, facing immediate pressure, had to make the call on what to do with Clevenger. In the end the choice was simple, pros vastly outweighing the cons. Due to Clevenger’s historically poor performance and his expiring contract they suspended him for the rest of the season inevitably ending his tenure with the Mariners. This group that built up the pressure on the Mariners was not just made up of African Americans, since that is who the tweets were about, instead representing a variety of people across the country from all ethnic backgrounds. One of the leaders condemning these remarks is Mike