| Advertisement |
BLOOMSBURG, Pa., March 23 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old baseball phenom, who rose to fame last summer by pitching a shutout in the Little League World Series, on Monday asked a Pennsylvania college to reinstate a student-athlete who was kicked off his team over the weekend for making a sexual slur about her in a tweet. Mo'ne Davis captured the attention of the sporting world for her stellar play, and even inspired Walt Disney to produce a film based on her story.
Advertisement
Joey Casselberry, a first baseman for the Bloomsburg University baseball team in Eastern Pennsylvania, posted the offensive remark on Friday night.
"Disney is making a movie about Mo'ne Davis? What a joke," it read. "That [expletive] got rocked by Nevada."
Saturday, Bloomsburg University announced that Casselberry had been removed from the team.
"Bloomsburg Univ is deeply saddened by what was written about #MoneDavis by one of our student-athletes. His words do not represent us," the college's athletic department said on its Twitter channel.
"We take [the] matter very seriously; addressed the issue with the student-athlete (who has been dismissed from team), coach, and the team."
Casselberry later deleted the comment and deactivated his Twitter profile, but reportedly posted an apology before doing so, according to the Washington Post.
"An example that one stupid tweet can ruin someone's life and I couldn't be more sorry about my actions," Casselberry wrote. "I please ask you to ... Forgive me and truly understand that I am in no way, shape or form a sexist, and I am a huge fan of Mo'ne. She was quite an inspiration."
Davis, however, has reacted to the ordeal with compassion and forgiveness. On ESPN Monday, she said Casselberry shouldn't have to pay such a heavy price for one error in judgment.
"Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone deserves a second chance," she said on SportsCenter. "I know he didn't mean it in that type of way. I know people get tired of seeing me on TV, but just think about what you're doing before you actually do it.
"I know right now he is really hurt, and I know how hard he worked to get to where he is at right now. I was pretty hurt, on my part, but he is hurt even more," she added. "If it was me, I know I would want to take that back, and I know anything he would do just to take that one tweet back. I know how hard he has worked, so why not give him a second chance?"
Davis also said she sent an email to Bloomsburg University, asking the school to reinstate Casselberry to the team. When asked if she has heard from administrators, Davis replied, "I haven't checked my email yet."
As might be expected, online reaction to the remark has been rampant, with people tweeting their feelings and disdain for the comment -- including World Series champion and former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who himself leaped to the defense of his teenage daughter after she was targeted by Internet bullies earlier this month.
"Nicely done Bloomsburg U," Schilling tweeted.
