Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger is suspended for the rest of the season without pay.
Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger is suspended for the rest of the season without pay. alens/shutterstock

Seattle Times:

The Mariners have suspended catcher Steve Clevenger without pay for the remainder of the season following a pair of tweets he sent out on Thursday afternoon that were critical of the Black Lives Matter movement and president Barack Obama.

“As soon as we became aware of the tweets posted by Steve yesterday we began to examine all of our options in regard to his standing on the team,” manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement. “Today we have informed him that he is suspended for the reminder of the season without pay.”

According to screenshots of his account, Clevenger tweeted after the protests against police violence in Charlotte this week, "Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black officer haha shit cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the Anthem!” and “BLM is pathetic once again. Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals.” Clevenger's account has since been set to private.

In a statement, Clevenger said he was "sickened by the idea that anyone would think of me in racist terms."