MLB pitcher accused of pushing 9/11 conspiracy after writing message on mound
Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer sparked controversy Tuesday with the message he wrote on the mound at Wrigley Field prior to his start against the Cubs.
Using his cleat, Bauer wrote out “BD 911” on the mound, which many people thought might stand for “Bush Did 9/11,” a well-known conspiracy theory alleging that former President George W. Bush was responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
https://twitter.com/bkouchnerkavich/status/999071189715865603
Bauer is already a controversial pitcher who has previously voiced hotly disputed views on Twitter, leading many people to believe that he was at it again, as noted by USA Today.
After the game, however, which the Indians won 10-1, Bauer pushed back on accusations that he was promoting a 9/11 conspiracy theory. He claimed what he had tried to write was “BD 91.1,” which he said was a “personal” message to a training partner.
“Before I take any questions, I need to address what I wrote on the back of the mound today,” Bauer said. “It was a personal thing. It has absolutely nothing to do with Sept. 11 or anything. I went on Twitter to see people making ridiculous accusations about what it means and it p—-d me off. It’s completely unrelated. For people to take it a step further than that is just ridiculous.”
Bauer went on to call 9/11 “a tragic day in our country’s history” and once again criticized people who thought he was referring to the terror attacks.
“It’s senseless and that’s all there is to it. So, shame on the people saying that. It’s completely related,” he said.
Trevor Bauer, addressing the "BD 911" he wrote in the dirt on the back of the mound pic.twitter.com/WFPX4NWz19
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) May 23, 2018
In a pair of Tuesday night tweets, Bauer further defended himself against allegations that he was pushing a conspiracy theory.
Checked Twitter to see a bunch of people making ridiculous accusations.
1) I wrote BD 91.1 on the mound. It’s a personal thing of importance to me.
2) it’s completely unrelated to the senseless tragedy we endured on September 11 and it pisses me off that anyone would think that— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) May 23, 2018
3) Shame on anyone who says otherwise. Unfounded accusations like these are very hurtful and completely uncalled for.
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) May 23, 2018
Bauer is no stranger to controversy, and over the weekend, he even called himself a “polarizing figure,” according to Cleveland.com.
Earlier this month, he suggested that Houston Astros pitchers might be cheating to increase the spin rates on their pitches, though he later apologized.
If only there was just a really quick way to increase spin rate. Like what if you could trade for a player knowing that you could bump his spin rate a couple hundred rpm overnight…imagine the steals you could get on the trade market! If only that existed…
— Trevor Bauer (トレバー・バウアー) (@BauerOutage) May 1, 2018
“You either love me or hate me,” Bauer said over the weekend.
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