The Toronto Blue Jays have asked Anthony Santander to publicly address the controversy sparked by his decision to share anti-Muslim posts on social media. So far, the veteran outfielder has remained quiet and hasn’t issued an apology.
Barring a statement or player availability, the storyline — now in its second week — could very well extend into spring training next year.
In the meantime, a franchise that prides itself on inclusiveness has been criticized for not taking firm action, while the player appears disengaged after upsetting many team supporters and the Muslim community.
“In situations like these, the apology for some stakeholders wouldn’t be good enough, but at least it’s something,” said Mike Naraine, a sport management associate professor at Brock University.
“To not say anything is to remain complicit in the behaviour.”
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Santander shared posts in the aftermath of the U.S. midterm elections last week before deleting them two days later.
The videos included a Christian preacher saying, “There is no such thing as kind Muslims,” with another suggesting Sharia law would be imposed on the U.S. after Abdul El-Sayed was elected to the Senate in Michigan.
The Blue Jays provided a general statement last week and general manager Ross Atkins was asked about the controversy by reporters on Tuesday at Major League Baseball’s GM meetings in Las Vegas.
“There really aren’t words to express my level of disappointment,” said Atkins, who added he talked to Santander and told him he should address things publicly.
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Messages left with Santander and his sports management agency on Wednesday weren’t immediately returned.
“Athletes have a voice,” Naraine said. “Athletes are humans as we know, and they’re allowed to express their views and we love athletes for that. But when their views are rooted in bigotry or racism or transphobia or Islamophobia — as they were in this case — then it doesn’t make it OK.
“It makes it incorrect, it makes it wrong and it demonstrates the exclusionary view that the athlete has.”
Santander, a 32-year-old from Venezuela, didn’t play at the big-league level last season due to injuries. He signed a five-year, US$92.5-million deal with Toronto in January 2025.
The Blue Jays are the only MLB team in Canada, which has a population of over 1.78 million Muslims, per 2021 census data from Statistics Canada. About 10 per cent of Toronto’s 2.8 million residents identify as Muslim, the agency said.
“I think some people might be surprised at just how many Muslims are fans of baseball and the Blue Jays, and Toronto is a massive sports city,” said Steven Zhou, media and communications lead for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).
“The kind of response I’ve gotten from our community members from different circles, from various people, has been unbelievable. People are very, very upset.”
Unanswered questions remained about how potential social media policy and morality clause contract violations might be handled. Messages left with the Blue Jays and team owner Rogers Communications Inc., weren’t immediately returned. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young)
Zhou said the NCCM is open to meeting with Santander and team officials, adding he felt the situation could be an opportunity to develop and strengthen relationships with the community.
Unanswered questions remained about how potential social media policy and morality clause contract violations might be handled. Messages left with the Blue Jays and team owner Rogers Communications Inc., weren’t immediately returned.
Longtime agent Brian Levine, who primarily works with Olympians, said an athlete’s social media posts can have real contractual and financial consequences.
“I don’t know if these traditional professional team sport athletes get a little too comfortable with the compensation they get, if they feel untouchable, if they’re just not thinking, if there’s poor media training,” said Levine, who founded Toronto-based Envision Sports & Entertainment.
“Like let’s be honest, did the Blue Jays not sit down these players and give them a rulebook of do’s and don’ts at the beginning of the season? That’s what really baffles me, is this is pretty basic stuff.”
Santander hit 44 homers for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 but hit just .175 with six homers over 54 games in an injury-plagued 2025 season with Toronto.
He’s expected to be healthy for the 2027 season and become an everyday player again.
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“It would not surprise me to see discipline of some kind,” said lawyer Elliot Saccucci of Toronto-based Loopstra Nixon LLP, who added a parting of ways could be possible although unlikely.
“I don’t know if Rogers has the appetite to spend [about 63] million dollars to release this player,” said Saccucci, who’s head of the firm’s sports law group. “They might and they’re not losing much [productivity] on the field.
“But that’s a significant financial commitment for somebody that’s not going to be with your team.”
