Ryan Brasier retweets video mocking Jacob Blake response

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,759
Pittsburgh, PA
He deleted it immediately, and (from the article):

Manager Ron Roenicke said that Brasier apologized to both Bradley and first base coach Tom Goodwin.

"Ryan Brasier contacted me with a long text," Roenicke said. "We talked over the phone. He had already talked to Jackie. He had already talked to Goody. He explained he was watching on TV, watching the convention, he wasn't really thinking about the timing of anything, but just tweeted out some things. From him to me, there was no malice there about anything that was going on in anything that he said."
I wonder how JBJ and Xander feel about it, among others obviously.
 

kelpapa

Costanza's Hero
SoSH Member
Feb 15, 2010
4,638
He deleted it immediately, and (from the article):



I wonder how JBJ and Xander feel about it, among others obviously.
That's such a horse shit excuse. He didn't understand the timing? Glad he reached out to some teammates, I guess.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,278
AZ
I assume he's very very stupid. It's the only way that this makes any sense.

I"m not trying to excuse it, but just trying to understand it. Because if he's not very very stupid then I just don't see any way you can forgive the timing especially and if he is really that stupid maybe he should move on anyway.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,841
I don't agree with what he did, but is there going to be a test of beliefs for every player? Is there a pureness score they will need to reach to stay employed?
 

Diamond Don Aase

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 16, 2001
1,069
Merrimack Valley
The Cleveland Indians suspended and then demoted Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac for behaving with total disregard for their teammates. Brasier on the mound is not Clevinger or Plesac. He may not even be Dan Plesac and Dan is 58 years old. Suspending him seems like the least that the Red Sox should do.
 

mwonow

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 4, 2005
7,095
I don't agree with what he did, but is there going to be a test of beliefs for every player? Is there a pureness score they will need to reach to stay employed?
Are we talking about a pureness test, or an IQ test?
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,278
AZ
I don't agree with what he did, but is there going to be a test of beliefs for every player? Is there a pureness score they will need to reach to stay employed?
To me the problem is the timing. I know what guys like Heath Hembree or whatever likely believe about issues and I don't think you need to hold certain beliefs to play on a sports team. But there is a time to STFU. And to have some awareness when you're mocking a guy who has a fairly significant sports history in the city where you make a living.

This is worse both in terms of timing and content than what Drew Brees said and Ryan Brasier is not Drew Brees.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,841
Are we talking about a pureness test, or an IQ test?
I just want to know if we really want our employers to fire folks because they have views we disagree with.

But if you want to term it firing someone because they're stupid, I'm not sure how professional sports survives.
 

dynomite

Member
SoSH Member
The Red Sox need to get things together here and quickly. Their decision to play on Wednesday continues to look worse, and I’m not impressed with their handling of JBJ -- it seemed like they made him shoulder the burden of speaking for the entire organization, without having Roenicke and another respected member of the team, say, X or Eovaldi, speak alongside him. The contrast with Mookie, Roberts, and Kershaw speaking for the Dodgers was pretty stark.

Totally agreed with the Clevinger and Plesac comparison. Braiser’s poor decision and timing, while obviously not as immediately physically dangerous, merits a similar demotion and condemnation in my view.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,278
AZ
I just want to know if we really want our employers to fire folks because they have views we disagree with.
Is anyone here advocating firing him based on his beliefs? I think people are pissed about what he did.

Yeah, sometimes there are tough lines that you have to draw between punishing speech when it's really about punishing what a guy believes. But in terms of drawing lines I don't think we're really talking about 1984 style thought policing here.

Publicly making fun of a black coach, who won a championship in Boston, on Jackie Robinson day, because he cried about the death of a black man? I'm really not having a hard time saying this one is on the easy call side of the line and I'm not worried about slippery slopes.

Edited a bit.
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,275
I just want to know if we really want our employers to fire folks because they have views we disagree with.

But if you want to term it firing someone because they're stupid, I'm not sure how professional sports survives.
If an employee with the same visibility, platform and salary as Brasier did the same thing I am confident he would get fired
 

mauidano

Mai Tais for everyone!
SoSH Member
Aug 21, 2006
35,627
Maui
The Red Sox clubhouse is like a lot of others Where there are differences of opinions on race and politics. JD Martinez is a big Trump supporter and doesn’t hide it. He is selective and is seemingly conscious of the clubhouse. Brasier is entitled to his opinion but his timing is horrific. I’m entitled to my opinion too. Fuck him and his crooked neck. He has burnt his bridge.
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 25, 2002
90,017
Oregon
Face of that franchise.
Which, of course, another angle on this issue. What would the Bears do, for instance, if Urlacher were now in his prime as their middle linebacker?

Brasier is stupid, ignorant ... and fungible.
 

InsideTheParker

persists in error
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
40,371
Pioneer Valley
The Red Sox need to get things together here and quickly. Their decision to play on Wednesday continues to look worse, and I’m not impressed with their handling of JBJ -- it seemed like they made him shoulder the burden of speaking for the entire organization, without having Roenicke and another respected member of the team, say, X or Eovaldi, speak alongside him. The contrast with Mookie, Roberts, and Kershaw speaking for the Dodgers was pretty stark.

Totally agreed with the Clevinger and Plesac comparison. Braiser’s poor decision and timing, while obviously not as immediately physically dangerous, merits a similar demotion and condemnation in my view.
Roenicke had a tearful announcement about how moving JBJ had been at the time they announced skipping last night's game.
 

RG33

Certain Class of Poster
SoSH Member
Nov 28, 2005
7,199
CA
Fuck Brasier. “Cancel“ him please.
 
Last edited:

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,759
Pittsburgh, PA
I just want to know if we really want our employers to fire folks because they have views we disagree with.

But if you want to term it firing someone because they're stupid, I'm not sure how professional sports survives.
"have views"? No. Of course not. For one thing, that's legally protected. But of course, that's a strawman.

"express those views on a highly public forum designed to amplify the voices of public figures"? Well now, that's a bit different. For one thing, Brasier is representing his employer and its image publicly, and bringing negative public attention to your employer is generally not a great way to stay employed.
 

The Gray Eagle

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2001
16,723
Man, what Rivers said was really profound, and he was clearly emotional. He also noted that his father was a police officer.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UjGhM_w97Q

Here's a story about him growing up with a policeman dad:
https://www.nba.com/article/2020/07/26/doc-rivers-policeman-father
What kind of a person would publicly mock and attack him for saying this? Not someone I want to root for.

I've always liked Brasier, even defended him when he's pitched like crap, but I don't want to root for him anymore. Doesn't matter what the Red Sox do. They'll make a business decision on whether they want him representing their business anymore or not.

If you're an athlete and you post on social media, you are basically asking for trouble. Whatever his views, Brasier should have at least known that much.
 

snowmanny

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 8, 2005
15,667
Yeah I wouldn’t want them to fire someone for saying they support Trump.

He’s in Boston, making fun of Doc Rivers giving an emotional speech that resonated with Black athletes (and lots of other folks) across the nation. That’s not a political opinion: that’s terrible judgment and poor taste and embarrassing to your town and your teammates and your employer.

And he is unnecessary.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 10, 2017
5,959
I don't care if he stays employed or not, but he's a joke to me in any case. That is one of many reasons I'm pissed at not being able to attend games...I'd love to be able to boo "full tilt" coming out of the pen.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,278
AZ
Like 5 people in this thread are saying get rid of him immediately, so yeah.
For what he did not for what he thinks. Nobody is walking through the clubhouse with a test to decide who has the right beliefs. There is a big difference.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,304
For what he did not for what he thinks. Nobody is walking through the clubhouse with a test to decide who has the right beliefs. There is a big difference.
How else would you know his beliefs if he didn't either tweet something about them or bring them up in public somewhere?
 

kartvelo

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 12, 2003
10,461
At home
I think if we've cut friends and relatives out of our lives for their loudmouthed ignorance, we can survive cutting a relief pitcher from our favorite ball club.
 

amRadio

New Member
Feb 7, 2019
798
Cut ties. I'll be extremely disappointed if he's still on the team in a couple days. I would hope they wouldn't tolerate any passively racist or racist adjacent rhetoric/tweeting from any player at any time. You can't just change the name of a street and not walk the walk.
 

strek1

Run, Forrest, run!
SoSH Member
Jun 13, 2006
31,747
Hartford area
I'm totally sick and tired of racism in all it's forms so yeah I have no problem believing a guy from Texas who is OK mocking a black coach pouring his heart out about racism might be somewhat of a racist. Just because the guy has black team mates he can certainly still be a racist. He didn't make the video but he promoted it so screw him. He just dropped down a bunch of notches on my list as a person.
 
Last edited:

Average Reds

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 24, 2007
35,330
Southwestern CT
I don't agree with what he did, but is there going to be a test of beliefs for every player? Is there a pureness score they will need to reach to stay employed?
If they’re going to spew garbage on social media? Abso-fucking-lutely.

And let’s be clear. This happens in every business, every industry for every employee. The idea that holding a professional athlete accountable when they spew racist garbage is somehow a “purity test” is an utter fabrication.
 

jose melendez

Earl of Acie
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 23, 2003
30,972
Geneva, Switzerland
The issue is that in the Trump era, political discourse on the right has become so grotesque and so offensive, that duplicating it can cross lines.

Advocating for tax cuts, wars even is within normal discourse. But what if Brasier, had done a video mocking the disabled reporter as Trump did? Is that political speech because the President did it? What If he talked about "grabbing them by the pussy."

We should not be punishing people for political views, but nor should we be treating cruelty and racism as legitimate political views just because they come from a politician.
 

curly2

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 8, 2003
4,887
I wonder if Brasier would have told Brett Gardner to "get in the fuckin' box" in 2018.

It's amazing the disconnect that some people can have. I don't know Brasier, but how be in the locker room with JBJ (and Mookie and Price in 2018-19) and do something like that? Some people can just hate a whole people while maintaining the ones they know are some of the few "good ones."
 

Bergs

funky and cold
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2005
21,613
I wonder if Brasier would have told Brett Gardner to "get in the fuckin' box" in 2018.
One of my favorite moments from that season forever tarnished because he's an asshole. Sucks.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
6,247
from the wilds of western ma
I don't agree with what he did, but is there going to be a test of beliefs for every player? Is there a pureness score they will need to reach to stay employed?
Stop it. He's a belligerent, miserable asshole to be posting something like that, in the context of this week. Hit the fucking bricks, Ryan.