Seattle Mariners catcher Steve Clevenger was suspended for the rest of the season for tweets that criticized riot group Black Lives Matter and President Obama.

He called the Charlotte Black Lives Matters rioters, who caused millions of dollars in damages over three days, thugs and called the movement pathetic. He also said those involved should be behind bars.

He tweeted in two tweets that have now been deleted:

“BLM is pathetic once again! Obama you are pathetic once again! Everyone involved should be locked behind bars like animals!” the backup catcher tweeted out about the riots in Charlotte.

“Black people beating whites when a thug got shot holding a gun by a black officer haha shit cracks me up! Keep kneeling for the Anthem!”

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The Mariners said on Friday that Clevenger would be suspended for the rest of the season without pay. His salary for 2016 is $516,500 and he’ll lose around $30,000.

Marines General Manager Jerry Dipoto said in a public statement, “As soon as we became aware of the tweets posted by Steve yesterday we began to examine all of our options in regard to his standing on the team…Today we have informed him that he is suspended for the reminder of the season without pay.”

The tweets are below:

Ken Rosenthal, Clevenger’s agent released the following statement from Clevenger.

“Statement from Steve Clevenger

“First and foremost I would like to apologize to the Seattle Mariners, my teammates, my family and the fans of our great game for the distraction my tweets on my personal twitter page caused when they went public earlier today. I am sickened by the idea that anyone would think of me in racist terms. My tweets were reactionary to the events I saw on the news and were worded beyond poorly at best and I can see how and why someone could read into my tweets far more deeply than how I actually feel.

“I grew up on the streets of Baltimore, a city I love to this very day. I grew up in a very culturally diverse area of America and I am very proud to come from there. I am also proud that my inner circle of friends has never been defined by race but by the content of their character. Any former teammate or anyone who has met me can attest to this and I pride myself on not being a judgemental person. I just ask that the public not judge me because of an ill worded tweet.

“I do believe that supporting our First Amendment rights and supporting local law enforcement are not mutually exclusive. With everything going on in the world I really just want what is best for everyone regardless of who they are. I like many Americans are frustrated by a lot of things in the world and I would like to be a part of the dialogue moving forward to make this a better world for everyone.

” I once again apologize to anyone who was offended today and I just ask you not judge me off of a social media posting. Thank you and God bless everyone.”

Steve Clevenger”

Clevenger will miss 10 games.

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