Ex-MLB star apologizes after mocking sexual assault victims in odd rant
Former Seattle Mariners second baseman Bret Boone may want to re-examine the things he finds funny. The 48-year-old three-time All-Star decided to mock sexual assault victims in an unprompted rant Wednesday morning.
Boone decided to “joke” about being sexually harassed to Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Stephen Cohen on Twitter.
Ta-da… pic.twitter.com/rx1CvM0sq1
— Stephen Cohen (@scohenPI) November 29, 2017
In the first message, Boone says he was sexually harassed twice Wednesday morning when a girl at Starbucks smiled at him and a woman at Rite Aid flirted with him. He concluded that message with “lol.”
When asked why he thought it was a good idea to make light of sexual assault, Boone gave the standard “it’s a joke/sorry if you were offended” line. Then, inexplicably, he responded with yet another message joking about being harassed.
Boone’s comments were sent as direct messages on Twitter. For those who aren’t aware, direct messages are meant to be private. In a previous tweet, Cohen said he wasn’t sure he was going to share the conversation publicly, but decided to go ahead with it.
Boone later issued a public apology on Twitter, saying “there are zero excuses” for his comments regarding sexual harassment. He added, “it will never happen again.”
All, there are zero excuses for what I said earlier. None. It was 100% wrong. It was offensive. It was inappropriate. It was not remotely productive to any conversation regarding harassment. I apologize and it will never happen again.
— Bret Boone (@theboone29) November 30, 2017
As Cohen notes, Boone’s initial rant was completely unsolicited. He didn’t reach out to Boone for a comment or anything like that. It appears Boone saw some of Cohen’s earlier tweets about former host of “A Prairie Home Companion” Garrison Keillor being fired due to improper behavior, and decided to spew his thoughts.
Keillor is one of the more recent men in prominent positions to be accused of sexual harassment or sexual assault since October. Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein stepped down after a number of women came forward to accuse him of sexual assault.
Weinstein’s allegations have spurred others to come forward with their stories of being sexually assaulted. Actor Kevin Spacey was fired from Netflix show “House of Cards” after similar allegations emerged. NBC fired anchor Matt Lauer early Wednesday morning for “inappropriate sexual behavior.” That’s far from a definitive list.
We have no idea why Boone decided to weigh in on this subject, or why he thought mocking sexual assault victims was the way to go. His decision to do so is incomprehensible.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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