The Toronto Blue Jays met with local Muslim leaders Thursday and then issued a public apology for outfielder Anthony Santander's Instagram posts. Santander apparently committed a heinous crime by calling out Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-MI) and radical Islam, which RedState reported on last week.
Team president and CEO Mark Shapiro said the Muslim leaders "shared the harm caused by Anthony Santander's Islamophobic social media posts."
"The Blue Jays are deeply sorry to the Muslim community and our fans for the pain and harm these Islamophobic posts have caused," the statement continued.
What, Mark, did you think saying 'Thank you, sir, may I have another' and holding a bending-the-knee ceremony would be a little too obvious? Grow a set, you absolute tool.
The team then posted Shapiro's public neutering on X, where it was promptly ratioed. A well-deserved one at that. Here it is if y'all want to pile on.
https://t.co/mx3xaaKnWy
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) November 12, 2026
Santander, a former MLB All-Star and Silver Slugger Award winner, reshared the posts that started all this after El-Sayed won Michigan's Senate race last week.
One was captioned “America voted for Sharia Last Night.” The other was titled “Islam is not peaceful.”
No lies detected. Yet Santander would delete them two days later.
That wasn't enough for the outrage brigade. Steven Zhou of the National Council of Canadian Muslims told reporters that community members were "very, very upset."
Cry more. The Blue Jays also dipped into some interesting authoritarian territory here. Zhou, who attended Thursday's meeting, also said the club committed to putting Santander through "educational training."
Toronto could have stood up for free speech and their own damn player, and instead, they're shipping him off to Room 101 at the Ministry of Love. Shapiro was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, so he presumably has some grasp of the concept of free speech. He's just choosing not to exercise it, or rather, allow his players to exercise it.
Santander must think he's back in Venezuela.
@BlueJays Y'all gonna wear hijabs on the field next year?
— Rusty (@Rusty_Weiss) November 12, 2026
Santander, for his part, has said nothing. He hasn't apologized, explained, or groveled, which at least makes him more courageous than his employer.
Neither the team nor MLB has announced a fine or suspension, and OutKick has offered a theory. Cutting Santander would leave Toronto on the hook for $49 million in guaranteed money, and he hasn't played since shoulder surgery wiped out his 2026 season.
Weird restraint for a franchise that, in 2023, designated reliever Anthony Bass for assignment 11 days after he urged Christians to boycott Target and Bud Light due to their association with "pride" events. That one was called a "baseball decision."
This time, the baseball decision comes with a $49 million price tag, so the Jays are settling for an emasculation tour in the hopes that their Muslim "friends" will play nice.
Shapiro might short-circuit if someone points out how radical Islam feels about pride events. He dumped somebody for opposing them, then turned around and begged for mercy on behalf of an ideology that, under Sharia, criminalizes same-sex relationships.
What a rube. So glad this fluke of a team didn't win the World Series last year.
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