18
2012
Noah Syndergaard Apologizes For Using Anti-Gay Slur
An article by 72MetsFan
Updated at 7:00 PM
As I expected, right-hander Noah Syndergaard apologized today for the anti-gay slur he made on Twitter. During a conference call with New York media, he said:
“I had a little mishap on Twitter about a month ago, and it was just brought to the attention this morning,” he said. “I’d just like to apologize for anything that was said. A buddy and I were having a little conversation. I had a poor attempt at humor and an even worse attempt at using a term I shouldn’t have used. I hope I didn’t offend anybody. I’m really sorry my first introduction to being a New York Met had to be like this.”
That will hopefully be the last we hear of this.
Original Post 12:30 PM
I’m sure this not exactly how one of the newest Mets wanted to begin his foray into the New York market.
Noah Syndergaard, the pitching prospect included in the R.A. Dickey deal, was caught using an anti-gay slur on Twitter. The offending tweet was then deleted, but not before it made the rounds and infuriated many.
Andy Martino of the Daily News caught it and reports:
Righthanded pitcher Noah Syndergaard, 20, acquired along with catcher Travis d’Arnaud in the deal that sent the Cy Young Award winner to the Blue Jays, tweets from the account @Noahsyndergaard.
On Dec. 9, this tweet appeared from that account: “@DMarze89 nice crocs fag lol”
The tweet no longer appears on the timeline for the account.
Martino also reports that the Mets are now looking into the matter and that the full context of the tweet was not immediately clear.
I would imagine a public apology will be forthcoming.
About the Author: Drew Staley
On June 1, 2012 Johan Santana officially became my favorite current Met! I'm a Queens native who grew up in the shadows of Big Shea. I was a huge Ron Darling, Dave Magadan and John Olerud fan. Honored to be a part of such a great site for Mets fans. Ya Gotta Believe!
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UGHHHHH
Tweeter is a loaded gun and it’s only a matter of time before goes off.. People will always see what you post no matter if you deleted it or not. I was reading about it and couldn’t help but to feel bad for the kid, i am sure he had no bad intentions to it, but with all kinds of org about gay people, animals etc, one has to be more kind about what it writes or even say in public.
Agreed, I tell my athletes to stay off of Twitter and Facebook to no avail. Most of their comments are meaningless and they mean no harm. A 16-20 year old is not thinking about much of anything, much less what they right on Twitter and they are so naive. It took a couple of mine being suspended last year by the school for what was said for them to figure it out and we STILL had issues this year. One of my good coaching friends just had to suspend some players because of disparaging remarks about another team at the school. It stinks but they don’t realize that people watch their every move and not every “friend” is genuine so even if you block the account to only friends, as I tell my players, you don’t have 1,250 “friends” so don’t think those guys have your best interest at the forefront.
I thought about posting this story myself but to me it’s so trivial that I am afraid as usual it will be blown out of proportion.
“one has to be more kind about what it writes or even say in public.”
Words to live by?
Welcome to NY Noah.
Yeah, wouldn’t it have been easier for the press just to ignore it? I mean seriously who was watching and then turned it in?
Why would anyone in the press ignore a potential story?
Because they used to.
welcome to the 24 hour news cycle.
“Welcome to NY Noah.”
This
What would be real funny is if Crocs were a Mets sponser.
What I thought was comical was the original article called the comment an “anti-gay slur”. Is that seriously what we have came to? Where a kid uses a phrase that has been around forever to insult one of his friends and now he is in the same vain as someone who is committing a hate crime?
I hope his fast ball is not STRAIGHT and he continues to get alot of SWISHES.
Ya, but the fact that he used it as an insult is the problem.
So nine days ago a 20 year old kid writes “fag” on a social media web site and it’s big new?
Really?
It’s sad to see the crybaby society we live in. If you don’t like what somebody’s saying, that’s your problem, not the other person’s.
Besides, the tweet seemed to be an inside joke with a friend.
Don’t kill him for exercising his first amendment right to free speech. This is not news. This is just an oversensitive and overreacting society we live in.
On a personal note, I’m starting to like this guy already. IMO, he has nothing to apologize for. he has a right to free speech just like everyone else in this country. If a certain word offends you, you need to grow a thicker skin. Don’t vilify the person who uttered (or in this case wrote) the word like a spoiled child!
ehhh I get what you’re saying or trying to say but when you’re a professional baseball player and you have a twitter account, an inside joke should be left to private txt message.
It’s a pretty dumb thing for him to say to be honest.
People in entertainment/sports know they have people following them on twitter and so you need to be aware of that and watch what you say.
I can guarantee you that if I said the same thing on my personal facebook acct and one of my clients saw it, I’d be reprimanded also
Again, use the word N*gger and see where that gets you. F*g is no less derogratory—whether you mean it in an insulting way or not. He’s a grown ass man wearing a professional uniform. Act accordingly or get fired.
He’s not 10. He can keep his inappropriate convos off of twitter. I’m assuming you don’t have someone in your family who is gay or a friend who is gay—they wouldn’t feel all warm and fuzzy after reading that comment. Or perhaps a disabled person in your family or someone developmentally disabled only to have someone use “retard” in any way—that would certainly get under your skin, and if not, you’re the one with the problem…..
He used f*g to describe something in a negative light—not cool.
Doesn’t mean he needs to be crucified—he apologized. It’s over. But the ignorance and insensitivity on these boards is overwhelming and disgusting. To hell with the gay agenda or anything else—as a fellow human being, that kind of talk is unacceptable and unprofessional. Grow the f*ck up. I’m sure he did with all the NY spotlight on his stupidity.
Treat your fellow human beings with respect—plain and simple.
Please, give me a break. A dimb kid did something dumb. He’ll need to apologize and move on.
I knew the media was gonna run with this as soon as I saw this over the weekend? A tweet made over a tweet is now being brought into the light? Welcome to New York, kid. Long way from Mansfield.
#FUN FACT!!!!
In Britain a FA.G is considered a cigarette
It’s also a bundle of sticks.
In more important news:
http://realdirtymets.com/2012/12/18/mets-acquire-collin-cowgill-jefry-marte-headed-to-oakland/
or
http://metsblog.com/metsblog/mets-acquire-coollin-cowgill-from-oakland-for-minor-a-leaguer-jefry-marte/
That smily face should be able to tell you what i am thinking….
Nice another question mark in our Outfield….
Well at least he bats Righty!!!
I assume Sandy snatched him up due to high OBP throughout minors career…gotta love walks
he also had decent speed, pop, and was considered to be a very good defensive guy with a really good arm. All of which certainly came into play also.
TRS back to my earlier statement, this does not help things…
Pretty odd world we live in. This kid will get called more names by the “fans” at Citi the first bad outing he has than he’s heard in his life but he says one fairly innocuous thing and it’s now a controversy.
I rate this a 0 on my give a crap-o-meter.
Agreed.
Jon Rauch and Josh Thole…………APPROVE THIS MESSAGE!!!!!
Didnt Mets fans threaten to kill Tholes new born baby on twitter? SMH
I don’t know if they threatened to kill the kid, but I know there was some pretty nasty stuff about the Thole family.
BREAKING NEWS:
Mets acquire outfielder Collin Cowgill from Oakland in exchange for minor league infielder Jefry Marte.
My goodness…. There we have folks, our OF.
I don’t know which Sandy lie is worse. On Oct4th he stated there will be substantial changes to C and OF. Last week he said the roster will look very similiar in 2013 to the one at the end of 2012, Now we are guaranteed to have different catchers and a different outfielder. When this guy hits, just yes MOOOOOO.
.311 career slugging. Woof. I hope he’s a defensive replacement/ pinch runner.
Donal, based on what we’ve seen the past 2 years, from the bottom of your heart, what do you think? He’s very likely to be with the club as the others rejects we’ve acquired this year..
based on the full body of work, I don’t know. Ramirez wasn’t supposed to be our every day CF. He was a throw in in a trade to hang on until Kirk came up.
The fact is, Alderson’s brought in very few starting position players.
“and that the full context of the tweet was not immediately clear.”
Context? Unless he’s British and was talking to a cigarette or a bundle of sticks, I really don’t see how context is an issue.
Now let me see , during my long military career I served in ‘Nam and Desert Storm under the impression I was protecting our constitution and the American way of life. Didn’t that include the protection of the First Amendment or am I missing something?Jamie Foxx said he wanted to kill all white folks and people flock to his movies. Oh, I forgot he’s black and doesn’t play baseball. Are we nuts. What has happened to our country?
Yes, you defended people’s Freedom of Speech and thank you for that.
But, just because you have a right to do something does not mean you are free of the consequences. Any sponsors he may have can exercise their right to free speech and choose to not have him speak for them. Anyone offended by his comment (not that there has been any evidence of such a person) has a right to speak up about it.
Of course, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say he’s just did what young guys do and said something stupid. No need to protest the kid or anything. He’ll apologize and say something nice to GLAAD or something and hopefully learn his lesson and this stops being an issue.
And I thought MLB teams were teaching these guys about social networks and the media?
You are 100% coorect and please read my comment to Saturn. thank you.
“Jamie Foxx said he wanted to kill all white folks and people flock to his movies.”
When was this? Did I miss something?
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2012/12/11/obama-worshiper-happy-about-killing-all-white-people-in-new-movie-n1464410
LMAO
you guys know he was kidding right ?
I was more offended by how lousy the monologue was.
“The Mets are now looking into the matter”
According to the screen capture it happened on the 12th. He was a Bluejay then. How would he be subject to any of their rules any way?
Here’s my crisis management tip to the kid: Tweet that you’re sorry. Don’t do it again.
Trs youre missing the point. Saying fag is the same and yunel escobar writting in spanish the word maricon under his eyes. Its a despective word to describe gay individuals. Should not be used by anyone to describe anyone. If you insult someone by using the word fag basically you are insinuating there is some kind of issue with being gay. Saying the kid is using a word that has been around forever is nothing but ignorance. You wouldnt call a black person a n****** would you?
Agree to disagree, I don’t see it as the same thing. I think it was a kid making a stupid comment to a friend.
LOL, that’s all, just LOL.
Metfan lou? Really? That comment is so racist and you dont even see it.
Please don’t read into comments something I did not say. ALL I was commenting on was his First Amendment right of free speech. I would never say anything like that personally and always respect the choices of others as long as they don’t break the law or infringe on my rights. Young people say STUPID things, God only knows I did. I hope he realizes his mistake. I am sure he will and will correct it. At least he’s no John Rocker. The poster child of insensitivity.
[...] About the Author: Drew Staley3 [...]
Well,he is just 20,but let him nicely know that he is a baseball player,and he should carry himself in a better manner. A public apology would also be a nice thing to do.
The Twins signed Mike Pelfrey to a one-year, $4 million contract. Just thought I’d mention that for no reason whatsoever.
Lol sorry but that’s old news
In his defense I think we can all agree that crocs are gay looking. Also kids his age don’t mean fag the way older people do.
LOL….your comments are ridiculously unintelligent and I lose IQ points reading them dude.
Call a black person a N*gger and tell them you don’t mean it the same way your parents did and see if you don’t get knocked the f*ck out….
LOL…idiot.
Big deal, oh my!! Really this is an issue?
Who gives a shit? Really, this society is so soft its pathetic. The word is never going away. Same with retard and all the other offensive words. Even Merry Christmas is considered offensive nowadays. Ridiculous.
Grow a sack.
Agreed
So much for that Zorro the Gay Blade promotion night they were planning on having later this year….
LOL
Dummy. Product of this generation though.
I thought part of minor league development was counseling to these young kids on how to conduct themselves in a job where the spot light was constantly on you. I guess young Noah missed that class.
I see he publicly apologized. Moving on……
Yeah, except they’re still….let’s see…..KIDS!!!!!!
What an embarrasing statement about our society. Goddamn New York media, dragging something up from a month ago. PURE SCUM
With all due respect, the First Ammendment has nothing to this. The government isn’t telling telling this kid not to say, the Mets are, as well as gay rights groups and most other sensible Americans. The first Ammendment does not state that we can say anything to anyone at any time. Try screaming fire in a crowded movie theatre or threatening to kill a politician. What this young man did was a misjudgment while clowning around with his friend not breaking the law. He should still apologize. For those who think its ok to still use that word or “retard” as someone else said simply because the word has always been around, I’m sorry to say, you’re out of your mind. The word ni—r has been around forever too. I think if you feel it’s ok to say words like “fag” and “retard” then you should also say the N word. But you must do so for every time you encounter an African American. Lets make it really fun, since its “ok”. You have to do this all by yourself in BedStuy or Vailsburg Newark. You know since “ok” because these words have been around for ever.
you should not encourage stereotypes that people are silly and get violent so easily against people for saying silly words.
The kid made an unfortunate, stupid and offensive comment – which is what we all have done in our lives.
He apologised. Hopefully he has learned a valuable lesson.
End of story.
its silly to even portray it as anti gay. but thats what the media does. lie.
Really? So N*gger is not anti-African American correct?
Dude, seriously…take a look at what you just wrote—no matter how you slice the pie, and whether or not he meant it, it came across as inappropriate. Nobody said Noah hates gays, but the use of that word isn’t cute.
Jesus Christ some of you people really need to grow up—and maybe if a family member was gay , bullied and or committed suicide you’d feel differently.
Totally inappropriate.
Maybe we can trade him and say, Darnaud to Toronto for Dickey?
No, never mind. Inly an idiot would make that trade
Oh please. Get over it. What’s done is done.
He shouldn’t have to apologize because of a bunch of self-righteous gay people who get offended at everything… Martino should have just left it alone.
Really? So if you call an African American a N****r, you don’t have to apologize to them either? Why? Because it’s OK to use that word? Are African Americans self-righteous because they don’t want you to refer to them as n*****s? Gay people who are called f*g in high school coupled with excessive bullying sometimes end up committing suicide due to the ignorance in this world (a prime example being your post)….think that’s being self-righteous too? You have no clue what you’re talking about—none.
What he did was WRONG—and the fact that he represents an organization makes it even worse. He apologized–done deal and we move on, but don’t post that he shouldn’t have to apologize because of a bunch of “self righteous gay people who get offended at everything” ….makes you sound very unintelligent and prejudiced.
Retard, F*g, N****r…..they’re all derogatory, ugly words. Grow up and grow a pair as well—insult someone intelligently for a change.
TIS,
You’re nuts! No one is saying he’s a gay basher but he needs to choose his words better and at the very least appologize (which he did). Making fun or using a silly name for someone over their sexual orientation is no different than making fun of someone over the color of their skin, or if they have a disability or a deformaty (not saying being gay is a disability or aanything like that so please don’t read into that). These are all things we should have learned in kindergarden at the latest!!!
If he used an ethnic slur, say about Hispanic or black people, would you say the same thing?
Thats different Donal. No white peope go around calling black people nigs as a joke, only in a hostile way. But people my age say f-g all the time lightheardedly, we really just mean uncool.
To Mike and Sloatsburg, how is this any different than people being made fun of for being shy, overweight, ugly, or anything else? If he said nice crocs moron I’m sure noone would care. But just because this happens to be the word f-g its a big deal?
I mean I understand whats going on. But people need to get out of the stone ages and realize that this stuff doesn’t matter.
^^^^^^^^
THIS
This is “not” stupid
When he called his friend a bundle of sticks….It was said light heartedly…
When you call someone a racial slur it is rarely ever light hearted…it is more often than not malicious….
If he said Gay instead of F_G it would still be an issue for some guaranteed….
Correct me if im wrong but “skin color, race and nationality” is different from someones “sexual preference”…..Women make fun of mens sexually all the time lol….are there any small penial region support group, 1-minute man organizations???
Wheres AL Bundy and NO MAAM when you need him
It was harmless teasing from one young person to another. Anything is fodder for the Thought Police.
Can he pitch? End of story
Words matter, especially when you play in NY. But as many said, in this instance it was more a case of joking around between two friends than actual hate speech, and he duly apologized for his remark.
Jeremy Hefner and his controversial tweet bothers me more.
I don’t have an issue with his tweet either. At some point we have to realize what Twitter and Facebook are. Social media sites where people go and talk to their followers about their independent thoughts and ideas. I understand, as a coach, that people are always watching and that because of today’s society you have to be politically correct but at some point we have to adjust our thinking on what people say on Twitter and Facebook.
In other words, why do I care?
People have the right to say what they want using social media. Just be prepared to accept the consequences.
Why do we care? I think we always care what people say. Whether it is in social media or it gets leaked by other means. Social media is different in that it gives us easy and instant glimpses into the thought processes of people who ordinarily wouldn’t be so exposed. So we get to see who these people are in a way that wouldn’t be possible 10 years ago.
In the case of athletes, what they say in ANY media can make them a whole lot less or more likable. I don’t just root for the laundry. Never have. Have to admit, when I heard what Hefner did, I kind of didn’t care if he got bombed or not (it was the end of the season anyway). I was inclined to dislike him. Still am.
“. I don’t just root for the laundry. Never have. Have to admit, when I heard what Hefner did, I kind of didn’t care if he got bombed or not (it was the end of the season anyway). I was inclined to dislike him. Still am.”
I guess that separates us. I have never considered professional athletes to be role models and I don’t really care about what they do or say in their personal lives or what their personal beliefs are. So what if Hefner is a Christian and likes Chick-Fila? So do I, doesn’t make me full of hate, I just like a good chicken sandwich.
It’s not about athletes being role models. It’s about athletes being decent human beings and likable. It’s just revolting to some extent to stand up and cheer someone whose values are diametrically opposed to mine. Lets pretend, for example, that Wright secretly belonged to the KKK. Are you still going to root for him? (Assuming you are not one of the Wright bashers to begin with.)
I guess it’s just me. I used to like Mel Gibson. Once all that crap got out about him, I can’t even appreciate his old movies that came out before it was known who he really is — let alone his newer movies.
I grew up liking the 86 Mets, LOL. Why on earth would I be hypocritical and care if they are good people or not. It’s also hypocritical of me to think that my views are so great that I can’t cheer for someone with views the opposite of mine.
You didn’t answer my question. If it were revealed that Wright secretly belonged to the KKK, could you still root for him the same exact way you do now (again, assuming you aren’t one of those card-carrying Wright bashers already). Yes or no.
There is a slight difference between saying something dumb on Twitter and belonging to a terrorist organization.
There is a big difference. And no one is saying the two things are the same. The point is — is it reasonable for a fan to be turned off by certain extremist political stances of individuals — specifically athletes and entertainers.
And, btw, the KKK is a legal organization. A “terrorist” organization is not.
And how are the ’86 Mets comparable to Mel Gibson and the things he’s said/done.
This is a pointless discussion. Lets get back to baseball.
You’re the one who brought up the ’86 Mets. Yet you refuse to explain how their behavior is similar to the type we are talking about here.
Oh, and Hefner’s tweet wasn’t about liking chicken. It was about endorsing an anti-gay agenda. Anyone who says otherwise is disingenuous.
And I love chicken too.
I don’t want to start that debate because it’s a baseball blog but I still have no issues with Chick Fila and eat there whenever I feel like it. Their owner can think whatever he wants as long as he doesn’t do anything illegal and his hiring practices are on the up and up.
This really isn’t about Chick-fila. It could have been Dunkin Donuts. The issue is about a Mets player taking an anti-gay stance. And whether or not as a fan it’s reasonable to be turned off by it. I was when Hefner did it.
“Their owner can think whatever he wants as long as he doesn’t do anything illegal and his hiring practices are on the up and up.”
I feel the same way about the players.
So it is all about the laundry for you. And if it were revealed that Wright secretly belonged to the KKK, it wouldn’t change how you rooted for him.
That’s OK, there are many fans just like you for whom the person behind the jersey is pretty much inconsequential.
It’s just not that way for me. If I give a team — and other entertainment entities — my money and my time — I’d like to know it’s not in support of those who advocate extremist or abhorrent views. I suspect the majority of fans see things this way too.
I understand your position but let me say this, you would have hated the 86 Mets.
That’s a very very odd thing to say since I very much watched the Mets in 1986.
You’ve yet to explain how the behavior of the ’86 Mets is comparable to the worst of Mel Gibson.
Metro, we just aren’t going to agree on this. We are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Time for baseball.
Fine, but since you are the one who brought up the ’86 Mets, I am really curious if their behavior was comparable to the type we are talking about here.
“it was more a case of joking around between two friends ”
Twitter is not a personal messaging service….
Personal Newsfeed service at best and the quicker public figures realize that the better!
I think it was Art Linkletter who said, “Kids say the darnedest things”. I’ll add to that and say that sometimes kids also say the damnedest things.
What gets me is finding out the back story to this which I find quite troubling.
When this first occurred back at the beginning of the month while Syndergaard was still with the Jays, it went completely unnoticed and nobody said a word about it.
It wasn’t until the trade was announced, that Andy Martino took the time to go all the way back on this kid’s Twitter timeline analyzing every single entry Syndergaard made, until he found this.
He immediately screened-shot it to preserve a record of it, knowing full well that as soon as he broke the story the kid would go and delete it.
Then Martino told the world about it.
Does that bother anyone else the way it bothers me?
I had stopped following Martino on Twitter and asked Rob and Craig not to source anything from him for almost 18 months because of the time he implied Met fans were against Luis Castillo because we had racist tendencies.
I only began following him on Twitter again at the start of the 2012 season.
Why would you expend all the time that he did just to try and dig up dirt on the new guy? Is this the type of beat writer we want covering the team and having access to players?
It just rubbed me the wrong way.
“Does that bother anyone else the way it bothers me?”
Hell yeah it does. Again, I ask way back at the top of the thread that this wasn’t a story until someone reported it. It had nothing to do with any hate in the kids heart and to be portrayed the way he was because of a stupid comment by a 20 year old?
Martino bothered me long before this. IMO, he’s not one of the best at Mets coverage.
Would have been more than fine with me if he had stayed on the Philly beat.
“Would have been more than fine with me if he had stayed on the Philly beat.”
I get the feeling Martino feels the same way.
It wasn’t until the trade was announced, that Andy Martino took the time to go all the way back on this kid’s Twitter timeline analyzing every single entry Syndergaard made, until he found this.
Yeah, Martino is a pain in the butt and purposely trolls Mets fans, but to some extent this is just typical NY for you. Everything is put under a microscope, as they say, including your twitter account. Which is why if you want to play on a NY team, you have to be extra careful how you conduct yourself because things are often blown out of proportion (not referring to Syndergaard here).
“Does that bother anyone else the way it bothers me?”
Ya, I’m with you. The fact that he went so far out of his way to find something negative about the kid says a ton about him as a professional.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I can’t believe this is real life.