Pride Toronto director says Blue Jays have opportunity to turn a negative into a positive

Pride Toronto executive director Sherwin Modeste feels the Toronto Blue Jays have an opportunity to turn a player's negative action into a positive.

Blue Jays reliever Anthony Bass apologized Tuesday for expressing support on social media for anti-2SLGBTQ+ boycotts of Target and Bud Light. A day earlier, he shared an Instagram post urging others to spurn the companies over the support they showed for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

"I think [the team can] just continue to do what is right and continue to respect diversity and continue to spread love, continue to show their support for the 2SLGBTQ community," Modeste said.

"But at the same time, they also have a responsibility to hold all of their staff, all of their players, everyone that's associated with the Jays, they need to hold them accountable and that I would leave for them to manage."

Bass spoke outside the home dugout at Rogers Centre before the Blue Jays' series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.

He prefaced his remarks by saying "I'll make this quick," before delivering a statement that lasted 33 seconds.

Bass said he was "truly sorry" for the post and that he'd use team resources to better educate himself, adding "the ballpark is for everybody."

The 35-year-old native of Dearborn, Mich., who has more than 33,000 followers on Instagram, did not take questions.

Modeste said the amplification of a hateful social media post can have a significant impact.

"Let's also think about the young person that might be a prospect or might potentially be the next baseball player," he said. "And seeing this can deter them. So we need to find opportunities to strengthen our community, not to bring our community down."

General manager Ross Atkins and team president