Evangelist Franklin Graham is defending a Christian Major League Baseball pitcher fired for an old tweet that upset the woke mob.
Matt Dermody, who signed with the Boston Red Sox this year, tweeted in 2021 that “homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God” and “will go to hell,” citing 1 Corinthians 6:9, the Christian Post reports.
“May we all examine our hearts, ask Jesus to forgive us and repent of all our sins. I love you all in Christ Jesus!” Dermody tweeted.
“God defines sin in His Word. Sharing that truth is not hate, it is love. Pray for Matt Dermody in the midst of the backlash for his two-year-old tweet about what the Bible says,” Graham tweeted Wednesday.
Dermody’s social media activity drew attention after he was called up to make a starting spot against the Cleveland Guardians in June after pitching for the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate.
Five days later, the 33-year-old pitcher was released and is now a free agent.
Red Sox General Manager Brian O’Halloran told the Boston Globe his tweets factored into the decision and apologized to people that felt “hurt” when he called up Dermody in the middle of Pride month.
“We’re proud of our history celebrating Pride Night and standing next to the LGBTQ+ community,” O’Halloran said. “We’re sorry that a roster decision that we made caused harm to that community. We regret that it hurt people in the community, it hurt our fans, it hurt people that work in the organization.”
Dermody told “Outkick’s” Tomi Lahren his tweet wasn’t homophobic or hateful, but came at a time when he first embraced the Christian faith.
“I saw the list of all the things … that lead people to hell, and I was on that list,” Dermody said. “That instilled the fear of the Lord in me. And so now, it’s not really about me anymore, but it’s about helping others and preaching the Gospel and the Good News of Jesus Christ, that He saves us from … the fires of hell.”
If he gets another chance to play and the organization is upset with his tweets, he said he would respond by saying, “I’m sorry for hurting people’s feelings … but I believe in God; I believe in the word of God … and I want people to get to heaven. I’m not going to affirm any kind of sinful or immoral behavior … that’s going to lead people astray.”
Caleb Parke is the SMG managing editor. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and connect with him at calebparke.com.