Mariners catcher says all people involved with Black Lives Matters movement should be 'locked behind bars like animals'

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Steve Clevenger

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

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The Seattle Mariners have issued a statement expressing disappointment in tweets that came from the account of catcher Steve Clevenger that strongly suggest that people involved with the "Black Lives Matter" movement should be treated like animals.

Clevenger, who has been sidelined with an injury since late June, issued two tweets on Thursday afternoon. In the first he comments on a police-involved shooting while mocking people who kneel during the national anthem. In the second he calls for people involved in the Black Lives Movement to be "locked behind bars like animals."

The tweets have since been deleted. Here are screengrabs via The Score:

cropped_clevenger

The Score

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The Mariners at first said they were investigating the tweets. They later issued a statement attributed to Jerry Dipoto, executive vice president and general manager of baseball operations, that confirmed that the tweets came from Clevenger.

"The Seattle Mariners are very disappointed at the tweets posted on Steve Clevenger's account. While he is certainly free to express himself, his tweets do not in any way represent the opinions of the Seattle Mariners. We strongly disagree with the language and tone of his comments.

We are currently examining all internal options that are available to us as we determine appropriate next steps. We will have no further comment at this time."

The last sentence suggests that the Mariners are looking into ways to either punish or release Clevenger.

Clevenger has played in the big leagues in parts of six seasons with the Cubs, Orioles, and Mariners.

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Clevenger didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

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