Muslim group hopeful after meeting Blue Jays leadership following Santander controversy

A National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) spokesman said he was feeling hopeful after an initial meeting with the Toronto Blue Jays this week in the wake of the Anthony Santander controversy. 

Santander shared anti-Muslim posts on Nov. 4 in the aftermath of last week's U.S. midterm elections and deleted them the next morning. 

Steven Zhou, media and communications lead for the NCCM, said the meeting between Blue Jays brass and members of the Muslim community was an important step in trying to turn a negative into a positive.

"I feel more strongly about that now," Zhou said. "Now that we've had a first meeting, we've gotten on the same page about why this kind of narrative is not just annoying and upsetting. It poses real dangers in a place like Canada."

Santander apologized on Friday afternoon, saying the content caused hurt and fell short of his own convictions.

The Blue Jays are the only MLB team in Canada, which has a population of over 1.78 million Muslims, per 2021 census data from Statistics Canada. About 10 per cent of Toronto’s 2.8 million residents identify as Muslim, the agency said.

Toronto Blue Jays' Anthony Santander celebrates with teammates after hitting a solo home run against the Los Angeles Angels during the eighth inning of a baseball game in Anaheim, Calif., Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (Alex Gallardo/AP Photo)

Santander's statement came a day after Blue Jays president and chief executive officer Mark Shapiro apologized to the Muslim community and fans following the meeting with community leaders. General manager Ross Atkins said earlier in the week that he asked Santander to publicly address the controversy.

"The Blue Jays’ apology [and] explicit condemnation of Islamophobia and engagement with Muslim