Blue Jays distance themselves from Santander's Islamophobic posts

TORONTO · The Toronto Blue Jays have distanced themselves from Islamophobic videos shared by outfielder Anthony Santander on his Instagram account after the U.S. midterm elections. Santander reposted two videos on Wednesday, one suggesting America voted for Sharia law after Abdul El-Sayed was elected as the first Muslim U.S. senator from Michigan, and another stating "Islam is not peaceful." The posts were deleted on Thursday, but not before drawing widespread criticism from fans and Muslim community leaders. The Blue Jays issued a statement on Friday saying baseball is for everyone and that individual comments do not represent the organization's values.

"Baseball is for everyone, and the Blue Jays have created an inclusive experience where all fans feel welcome at our ballpark," a team spokesperson said. "Individual comments do not represent our organization's values and beliefs." The statement was provided to multiple media outlets, but the team has not commented further from its main social media accounts or website. Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s former special representative on combating Islamophobia, said deleting the posts is not enough and called for a public apology from Santander and a stronger stance from the team.

"For fans and the wider public who are Muslim, an apology is absolutely necessary to recognize how hurtful and harmful such dangerous posts are to their sense of dignity," Elghawaby explained. "It also sends a broader message to the society as a whole that to circulate such Islamophobic content is unacceptable and damages our social fabric." She said the Blue Jays have not condemned the Islamophobic nature of the posts, which she sees as a failure of leadership. The team plays in Toronto, where up to 57 per cent of the population is racialized, according to a 2024 Statistics Canada report.

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Samrah Sher, a 39-year-old die-hard Jays fan who plays in a Muslim women's softball league, said she was deeply hurt and disappointed. "While the Blue Jays tout an inclusive environment, a member of their organization sharing this hateful content is a major hit to Muslim fans," Sher said. "Santander sharing that content reinforces that dangerous stereotypes [about Islam] contribute to an environment where anti-Muslim hate is tolerated." Emad Ahmed, a 26-year-old social media influencer and Jays fan in Oakville, Ont., said seeing Santander's posts "does not rub you the right way, especially because you're so invested emotionally in the Blue Jays."

This is not the first time the Blue Jays have dealt with a player's offensive social media activity. In May 2023, reliever Anthony Bass shared a video calling for a boycott of companies supporting the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Bass apologized and took sensitivity training, but was designated for assignment less than two weeks later and released. In May 2017, outfielder Kevin Pillar was suspended for two games after yelling an anti-gay slur, apologized publicly and donated his suspension earnings to advocacy groups. Santander, 32, has yet to issue a public apology.

With files from USA Today, CBC News and The Globe and Mail