The MLB has another scandal on its hands.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the league has confirmed it was looking into the social media activity of Rob Drake, a veteran umpire who had posted threatening tweets aimed at Donald Trump's opponents. The 50-year-old Arizona resident reportedly expressed frustration over the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry into President Trump: "You can't do an impeachment inquiry from the basement of Capital Hill without even a vote!" he wrote Tuesday. "What is going on in this country?"
Drake, who made his MLB debut in 1999, returned to Twitter shortly after with a much more troubling tweet: "I will be buying an AR-15 tomorrow, because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020."
Drake's Twitter account has since been deleted; however, screenshots of his posts and likes have circulated across the platforms. As pointed out by USA Today, many of his messages were pro-Trump, while others referred to Hilary Clinton as a "liar" and claimed former President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
ESPN reports Joe West, the president of the MLB Umpires Association, declined to comment.
The controversy arrives amid the league's investigation into Brandon Taubman, the Astros' assistant GM who is accused of targeting a female reporter following Houston's victory over the New York Yankees. Sources told NPR that Taubman had complained about the reporter in 2018, because she had tweeted the number to domestic assault hotlines whenever pitcher Roberto Osuna appeared in a game. Osuna signed with Astros in 2018, months after he was arrested and charged with assaulting Alejandra Román Cota, the mother of his child.
