PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Despite sports being extremely political, sports and politics don't often mix well. Just a few days ago, LeBron James was told to "shut up and dribble" on Fox News and Eagles defensive end Chris Long, never one to be shy about politics, fired back with a hilarious Twitter thread.

So, it was only natural that controversy would ensue when pictures surfaced late Friday night of several members of the Mets out on a shark fishing expedition in Palm Beach with President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr.

However, they weren't actually trying to cause another Sharknado. But it's the Mets, so controversy naturally follows.

A screenshot was taken from an Instagram story of minor league utility man Phillip Evans and posted to Twitter. Users reacted mostly along party lines and it blew up, as things tend to do on Twitter. He was later told to delete the photo, which he happily did.

So, did the Mets actually go shark fishing with Junior?

Sort of. It appears as though he crashed the party.

Manager Mickey Callaway organized the event as an optional team bonding activity. Over a dozen players and staffers went out looking for sharks on the beach with Josh Jorgensen, the star of the popular YouTube series BlacktipH. Prior to taking the Mets out to the beach at sunset, Trump had been out with Jorgensen at the same beach. He happily posed for Instagram with the fishing rod and later with what appeared to be a shark on the beach.

He then left the beach and Jorgensen took the Mets out, but according to members of the team, he reappeared later on his own with his family.

Since sharks feed at sunset, he returned in an apparent attempt to see more sharks.

"He just showed up," Evans said.

Meanwhile, Evans learned an important lesson about his own social media accounts.

"I thought my Instagram was private," he said, laughing.

In case you're wondering, no, the Mets did not pass along any political messages. Although two members of the team did tell NJ Advance Media that they're now glad they skipped the outing because of their dislike for the President.

The Mets insist they did not mean to incite a political firestorm. This was purely accidental.

Abbey Mastracco may be reached at amastracco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbeymastracco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.