Mo’ne Davis remains a better person than any of us as she steps up to defend the college baseball player who was removed from his team after calling her a slut via Twitter.
Davis, 13-years-old, wrote to Bloomsburg University asking the school to reconsider its decision to kick Joey Casselberry from the team after his online comments.
Dear Dr. Soltz,
I am writing about the Tweet sent out by your baseball player, Joey Casselberry, and his dismissal from the team because of it. While I admit I was pretty hurt when I read his comments, I felt sad that he was dismissed from the team. As many people know, my dream is to play college basketball and maybe even professionally. I know how much hard work and dedication it will take to get there, and to have that dream taken away would be heartbreaking. I am sure Joey Casselberry has worked very hard to get where he is and dreams of playing in the major leagues. For this reason, I’m asking you to please allow him back on the team so that he can continue to chase his dream. He made one dumb mistake. I’m sure he would go back and change it if he could. We all make mistakes and deserve to be forgiven. I hope you will give him a second chance and allow him to play.
Thanks.
Mo’ne Davis
Casselberry, a sophomore first baseman, eventually apologized and Tweeted that his actions were, “An example that one stupid tweet can ruin someone’s life and I couldn’t be more sorry about my actions last night. 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.”
In a statement to Fox News, the school announced, “Her request demonstrates the type of person she is, her level of maturity and the empathy that her family and coach teach her. Bloomsburg University stands firm on our decision; however, his consequences will be reviewed as is common in disciplinary actions like this.”
We also applaud Mo’ne Davis’s magnanimity in handling this type of situation with so much heart and respect. In the age of the Internet, it is so easy to assume that our actions occur in a relative bubble, but as Bloomsburg University and other schools are trying to prove, racist and sexist comments, tweets and videos are not immune to consequences.
image c/o: Chevrolet/Youtube, Fox News
