If the Red Sox stay on turn, Matt Dermody would technically be lined up to start next Tuesday at Fenway Park on Pride Night.
That's never going to happen, not after a deleted 2021 tweet resurfaced in which Dermody denounced homosexuals as damned to hell, citing Bible verse. The Red Sox didn't know about the tweet when they signed the 32-year-old this winter, and though everyone is entitled to their religious beliefs, businesses are equally justified in deciding who represents them publicly.
It's hard to see how a journeyman left-hander is worth the trouble, but then again, this issue is only coming to light because of reporting by Sean McAdam of MassLive that makes Dermody's elevation to the roster during Pride Month particularly ill-timed.
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Thin on starters, the Red Sox summoned Dermody for Thursday's series finale in Cleveland. In spring training, they became aware of his June 26, 2021 tweet, which he posted while playing in Japan.
"#PrideMonth," he tweeted. "Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. They will go to hell. This is not my opinion, but the #Truth. Read 1 Corinthians 6:9. May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!"
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom told MassLive that club officials spoke to Dermody as soon as the tweet came to their attention. Dermody convinced them he took it down for the right reasons, but this explanation strains credulity.
"It's important to us that he had taken the tweet down and important why he had done it," Bloom said. "I talked to him personally about that and what he told me was that it really came down to two things. One, he didn't realize that his words would be hurtful and he didn't want to hurt anybody and when he realized that they were, he took it down."
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Before we get to the second half of that quote, let's stop here. We're supposed to believe Dermody didn't realize his words would be hurtful? What part of, "All gays are going to hell?" specifically delivered during Pride Month isn't hurtful? Pretending he reacted to anything other than blowback is disingenuous, particularly since his Japanese club issued a public apology.
As it is, the rest of that Corinthians passage also condemns adulterers and drunkards, and I couldn't find any tweets denouncing them. If his teammates belonged to either group, perhaps he relayed their prospects of eternal damnation in person.
It would be easy to remain all holier than thou, but the second half of Bloom's answer gets to a thornier issue.
"He also understood that it's not the right use of his platform," Bloom told McAdam. "He knows he made a mistake tweeting that. That's why he took it down. Obviously, that doesn't mean that we endorse anything he said or anything he believes. But the fact of the matter is, if we're committed to creating an (inclusive) environment, it's not right for us to police what people believe."
The first amendment protects freedom of speech and religion together for a reason, and one man's homophobia is another's sincerely expressed religious belief. Dermody is free to believe what he wants, and we should allow for the possibility that he has learned from this experience. It's up to the Red Sox to decide if his past behavior creates a hostile environment for gay fans and employees, or even if a marginal talent is worth the PR headache. Pulling on that uniform is a privilege, not a right.
It's tricky, and despite what you might think, I'm not calling for Dermody's head. I would like to make a small, reasonable request, though: Give someone else the ball on Pride Night.